The Key To My Heart
by myapplemonkey
Summary: All in a couple months, Adara's world gets rearranged. She starts a new job at a popular magazine, her best friend/roommate makes a life-changing decision, and she's dared to take a risk she wouldn't normally consider taking, leaving her with questions.
1. First Day

**_an: _**_I started this well over two years ago, and was well into posting it on another site, but I never got around to finishing it. But I started looking at it the other day and came up with some fresh ideas._

_I think I'm almost finished writing this, with only a few more chapter needed, so I should be able to get it up relatively quickly._

**_disclaimer:_**_ I do not own the boys. They own themselves. I also do not own the songs that start each chapter._

* * *

><p><strong>ONE - FIRST DAY<strong>

_Welcome to your new job_

_Hope you have a wonderful first day_

_We are so happy to have you join the team_

_You are so lucky on your first day_

"Dare."

I turned over in my warm, comfy bed, away from the door where my flatmate was waiting.

"Dare, wake up!"

I continued to lay there, eyes shut, trying to get some more sleep.

"ADARA! GET UP NOW!"

She walked over to my bed and pulled the covers off my head and to my feet.

"What the hell, Lo!" I cried, sitting up and trying to reach my duvet at the end of my bed, but failing.

"It's eight AM, and you've got work in an hour!" she told me, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Right." I pulled my sheet up over my body, covering up to get rid of the cold. "I totally forgot."

"No, duh, Smarty Pants." She rolled her eyes.

"Why's it so cold in here?" I asked, shivers taking over my petite frame.

"The heat went out earlier this morning," Lauren explained. "The Super didn't seem to care. So I called to get it fixed. Hopefully, it'll be fixed by the time you get back after work."

"I sure hope so. Or I'll die in this freezer!"

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, Adara."

I sighed as I climbed out of bed. I rushed over to my closet, pulling on the first sweater I found.

"Make that for me, will you?" I suggest, motioning towards the bed. "After all, you did wreck it."

"Hu," Lauren breathed, lowly, making a face at me. "Yeah, to get _you_ up."

"And? I need a shower. And I can't do both if I'm to be on time for work."

"Fine, whatever," she said, sighing loudly as I walk out of the room and to the bath across the hall from my room.

Quickly, I showered, washing my hair and then climbed back out, shivering as I did so, with the sudden change in temperatures. After wrapping in a towel, I headed back to my room to get changed for work.

"Do I look all right?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen, dressed in a black pencil skirt and a lilac short-sleeved blouse.

"You look lovely, Adara. What about your shoes?" Lauren asked, handing me a cup of coffee, looking down to my feet.

"Oh, Lauren! What would I do without you?" I cried before taking a sip of the hot liquid, loving every second of it as it went down my throat.

"I don't know. Probably lose your head. And your way home."

"I do believe that's true." I turned around, heading back to my room. Picking up the three-inch black-pumps waiting for me, I then headed back to the kitchen, where Lauren was now sat at the table.

I placed my now empty mug near the sink. I made my way towards the front door, trying to get my shoes on in the process, but struggling. Stopping just before the front door, I slip the shoes on my feet, grab my black coat, slipping that on as well, and pick up my new black bag, putting my mobile phone and keys inside.

"You remember your way, correct?" Lauren asked, appearing beside me.

"I do believe I do," I replied, smiling and nodding.

"Good," she began, pulling her coat on as well. "You've got your keys?"

"Yes."

"Phone?"

"Yes?"

"Laptop?"

"Right!" I ran as quickly as I could—which wasn't exactly fast considering my footwear—back to my room to get it from my desk. Picking up the handle of the carrying case, I slipping it on my shoulder and quickly made my way back to the door.

"What would I do without you, Lauren!"

"Again, I don't have a clue."

Giggling, I offered her my arm. "Shall I walk you to work?"

"Oh, of course!"

We walked out the door, Lauren locking the door behind us, and headed down the flight of stairs, coming out on the street in front of our two-storey building. Then, we headed to the building next door, and stopped.

"All right. Well, I guess this is my stop," Lauren said, smiling.

"I guess this is where you have to get off," I added. She unlinked her arm from mine, pretending to jump off the train. "I'll see you later, Lo."

"Good luck, Dare." She gave me a quick hug.

"Thanks. I'll need it." I walked away, waving back at her as I headed for the tube.

* * *

><p>A half hour later, I walked off the lift on the fourteenth floor, walking over the receptionist.<p>

"Good morning!" he greeted, beaming at me. "You must be new!"

"I am. I'm…."

He stopped me before I could say anything more.

"Ooh! Let me figure this out! You're…." He took a good look at me, eyeing me from head to toe. "You're Adara Palmer, right?"

"I am! How did you guess?"

"It's my thing. Out of the six girls starting today, and the three here already, you're the only one who fits the name Adara. You're quite unique."

"That's a complement, right?"

"It was indeed."

"Thank you, then…." I began, wondering what his name was.

"Benjamin. But call me Ben."

"Nice to meet you, Ben," I said, smiling at him, offering him my hand. "Then, you can call me Dare."

He took my hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you, too, Dare." Dropping my hand, he looked to the papers and book on his desk. "All right, why don't I take you to you work area now?" he suggested.

"Sounds good with me," I replied, following him further into the building.

He stopped when he got to one that was clean, with nothing on the desk.

"Here we are. This will be your desk. There are pencils and pens in the top drawer, and notepads in the second."

I nodded, showing my understanding.

"And there will be a staff meeting this afternoon at half-past-one," he informed me.

"Half-past-one, got it." I nodded again, even though I knew I'd have to write that down just to remember about it.

"And Ms Margit will be in shortly to assign your first piece."

"All right, thank you."

"Just doing my job," Ben replied, smiling. "Good luck and see you around."

"Thanks," I said, turning back to the desk as he walked away. I pulled the rolling chair from behind the desk and sat.

"Miss Palmer," I suddenly heard.

I jumped up, having been startled and stood waiting, unsure what to do.

"Miss Palmer?" a tall, redheaded woman asked, stopping before me.

I looked up to her face, recognizing it as the one that gave me the job. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Come with me, dear," she said, moving away, and heading for a nearby office.

I followed her into the office.

"Have a seat, please, Adara."

"Thank you," I said in a slightly small voice, taking a seat across the desk from her.

"All right. You know about the staff meeting this afternoon?"

"Yes, I know about it."

"Good, we'll be introducing you and the other new writers to the rest of the staff then."

"All right."

"Okay, onto your first assignment." She sorted through some folders stacked in a neat pile on the left—to me—side of her desk, pulling one out. "Here is a little information and details on the article." Ms Margit handed the folder to me.

"Thank you," I replied, taking the folder from her.

"If you look at the first page, you will see that you will have to go meet them for a little interview."

I opened the folder, looking to the page she was talking about, noticing that the interview was set up for the next afternoon at two. "Awesome," I replied, nodding.

"Until then, you can do some research, figuring out some questions. Please, please, please think up some questions to ask them, even if there are some suggested questions already."

"I love thinking up questions!" I accidently squealed.

Ms Margit laughed, so I joined in.

"I'm glad to hear that, Adara. Come up with as many as possible, and then bring them to me by about ten tomorrow so I can revise them, all right?"

"Got it, Ms Margit."

"Good. You may go now." She then turned to the computer in front of her, typing on the keyboard.

"Thank you," I said as I got up.

"And Adara?"

I stopped as I got to the door and turned back to her.

"Good luck on your first day." She smiled an earnest smile to me.

I smiled back. "Thank you," I repeated before turning back around and heading for my desk.

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_first day by the futureheads_

**_an: _**_Thanks for reading. Leave a review if you'd like. :3_

_Oh yeah, the lads arrive in a while, so just hang in there!_

_and, sorry: it starts off kind of slow and not funny. D: I promise: it gets better once the guys arrive, just hang in with me! *hopeful smile*_


	2. Anything Other Than Me

**_an: _**_thanks for reading the first one! it makes me feel so great! :D_

**_disclaimer:_**__ I do not own the boys. They own themselves. I also do not own the songs that start each chapter.__

* * *

><p><em>I'm tired of looking 'round rooms,<em>

_Wondering what I've got to do_

_Or who I'm supposed to be_

_I don't want to be anything other than me;_

You're probably wondering about me.

Like, what's so good about me? Who am I? And what is up with my name?

Well, to tell you the truth, there's nothing special about me.

My best mate, Lauren, is the one who keeps me in line all the time, making sure I get up and to work on time. She's always making sure I have everything, and that I haven't lost my head.

She's the best person in my life—she's reliable and trustworthy, and she's always been there for me.

I love her to pieces for this, and many, many, many other, countless reasons.

Next question: who I am.

Well, my name is Adara Palmer, born 6 May 1986. I have light green eyes and sandy blonde hair, neither of which I got from my mum, the only person who raised me.

I've always loved writing; I got into it at a young age—six, to be exact.

My mum got me my first magazine at that age, and that was it, I was following every article, reading it, and then coming up with my own questions to ask my stuffed animals and Barbie dolls.

And while I was interviewing my toys, I would take little notes. Afterward, I would write everything up properly.

By the time I was ten, my mum had got us our first computer, and I was learning how to type everything that I wrote up on it, printing out my interviews once we got a printer, too.

It was always fun doing that.

Eventually, I moved away from my toys and onto my mates.

Lauren was the first person who agreed to let me interview her from the magazine I claimed was I was making—I wrote a few interviews and drew some pictures for my ads, planning on putting them together and making a book out of them.

After I interviewed her, I wrote up my interview and showed it to her. She loved it. Told me I was better than the professionals. That made me really happy.

She then declared that she would help me with my magazine. She would draw up the ads, and I would write the interviews.

We called it 'LoDare' and it was a success. Almost everyone in our class wanted one by the time we got it done. It was so exciting.

Mum had to get it photocopied—before Lauren coloured the pictures—so we could get enough copies easily.

It was the most fun I'd ever had writing. I loved it.

I was able to interview more and more classmates for the magazine as time went on.

Lauren and I enlisted a few more people, mainly to help with the ads. I was always on writing, no one ever joined me. I didn't mind, I loved writing.

LoDare ended after about two years and eighteen volumes had been made; when we were eleven.

It was fun, but it was time to move on to bigger and better things.

The thing with LoDare was that when it ended, it turned out that I had decided to go into writing in College, and Lauren decided she wanted to go into Art—drawing, in particular.

It was pretty cool that we both realized what we wanted to do together with the help of a magazine that we started together.

So, when we got to College years later, that's what we did—Lo went into the Art programs; I went into English programs.

Now, she works in a Studio next door, and I work at a magazine a half-hour train ride away—but I don't mind. We are following our dreams, making them come true.

All right, next question: my name.

Before I was born, before anyone knew I was going to exist, my father left my mum.

No, he didn't walk away from a marriage. No, he didn't hook up with her for a one-night-stand.

He disappeared. He was never seen again.

Mum still claims she doesn't have a clue what happened to him. I don't know if I should believe her or not, it's really a confusing matter.

She claims they were in love and were planning on getting married, not that they were engaged or anything like that, though.

When mum found out she was pregnant with me, she made a tough decision and decided to keep me, for two reasons: she was against killing anyone, even unborn babies; and she wanted to always have a piece of the man she loved and would never forget—Jackson Bright.

Jackson Bright, he was the man who had sandy blonde hair and light green eyes. He also had a big nose and big ears.

Mum always said I was lucky—I got each of their best features.

I got my mum's nose, ears, and height—along with her small frame. And from my father, I got his eyes, hair, and lips. Oh, and you can't forget my mind—my scatterbrain; apparently, I got that from him, too.

Months later, when I was—finally—born, Mum couldn't decide on a name for me.

One day, when mum was asked if she had any ideas towards what my name would be, all she told them was, "She's my dream come true."

People then started called me Dream.

Finally, when I was almost a month old, mum decided on the perfect name for me—Adara, meaning 'one who is beautiful' in Greek.

I still don't exactly know where she came up with the name, but it's more the fact that she came up with it that matters—and that I'm not Dream, still.

Of course, I'm still called Dream, just not so much anymore.

The name Dare came from my name; and also from my scatterbrain, not really thinking before I did things.

When we would play truth or dare, I would usually always pick dare, without thinking first. My mates figured this out after a few games and would come up with stuff that most people wouldn't even think twice about before refusing.

I never turned down a dare. Never.

One time, when we were at the ocean, there was this cliff overlooking it. It was blocked off, so no one would go over.

Well, guess what my mates did.

They dared me to jump over.

And what did I do?

I agreed to it. Stripping down to my bikini, I jumped off the cliff.

Not the smartest idea ever. I ended up breaking my leg, as the water below was quite shallow.

But did that stop me from doing dares?

No, I still do dares when they occur.

But, I guess, that's just who I am; who I'll always be. And I don't want to be anyone other than me.

Adara, the barely 152 cm, green-eyed, blonde daredevil.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>i don't want to be by gavin degraw_

**_an: _**_thanks for reading this! I promise the guys will appear soon, so hang in with me until it happens, okay? okay!_

_until later! xx_


	3. Googles, Meetings, and Calls

**_an:_**_ hi! thank you for reading the last one! yay! i'm back with more here._

**_disclaimer:_**_ I don't own McFly. They own themselves. I also do not own the songs that start each chapter._

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><p><strong>Three - Google, Meetings, and Calls<strong>

_"Make it a note to make a point." he said  
>That's good advice I'll take it<br>Now, I'll start to use it, you know  
>Sentence, long messages<em>

Opening an Internet browser, I opened Google so I could do some research to figure out what questions I'd be asking at the interview the next afternoon.

I opened the folder again, this time to find out who I'd be interviewing.

Sasha Starr.

I knew that name. That was a new band that had just started to pop up on the scene.

Wanting to know all that I could before I started thinking up questions, I typed the name into the bar on the screen of the site.

Opening the first four sites in tabs at the top of my browser, I pulled the draw of the desk open, picking out a pencil out of the stash there. Then, I opened the drawer below it, bringing out a notebook to write in.

Toggling between the sites, I jotted down some notes, organizing them so it would be easier to come up with questions later.

By the time I put my pencil down, rubbing my hand, as it hurt from writing so much, it was almost time for the staff meeting.

I picked up a small notepad and a pencil and made my way in the direction that a few other people were headed—towards the interview rooms, where the staff meetings were held, apparently.

I looked at the shiny, silver watch on my wrist as I entered the room. One minute to half-past-one.

I looked up and smiled. Ben, the only person I knew so far, was leaning against the wall in front of me.

"Howdy, Dare," he said, smiling at me, standing up straighter.

"Hi Ben."

"Good-afternoon," a voice boomed as someone walked through the room and to the head of the table.

I turned, facing forward more than I already was, noticing that it was Ms Margit who spoke, followed closely by another man who looked just as important as she did.

Everyone in the room mumbled a 'good-afternoon' in reply to her, sounding a bit small in comparison.

"All right, you all know the purpose of this meeting," she began, taking a seat.

The man that had entered with her took the empty seat to her right. "We have eight new employees," he added, pointing out what everyone in the room already seemed to know.

Ms Margit was about to add something else when there was a knock on the door and a woman pushed it open, stepping into the room.

"Yes, Jane?" Ms Margit asked, looking up to her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is an urgent telephone call for Miss Palmer," the woman said, sounding slightly nervous.

I was shocked that this news, my eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"Very well, then. Adara, go with Jane," Ms Margit instructed.

I followed the woman, Jane, out of the room, slightly nervous, trailing slightly behind her.

"Excuse me…?" I asked, falling in step with the average-height woman.

She looked down to me. "Yes?"

"Who's on the telephone?"

"That would be one Hugh Jackman," she told me, matter-of-factly.

"Umm, who?"

"You don't know who he is?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't," I replied, slowly.

"He's in the band that you'll be interviewing."

"Oh." I still didn't understand completely.

"Okay, I can tell you still don't get what I'm saying."

Wow. Was I that easy to read?

"Just pretend you know when you talk with him, all right?"

"Got it," I nodded, smiling slightly.

"Good. Here you are." She picked up the receiver, handing it to me.

"Thank you." I put it to my ear as she took it off hold. "Hello, this is Adara Palmer."

"Adara? This is Hugh Jackman."

"What can I do for you, Hugh?" I asked, not one-hundred per cent sure what to say.

"Well, you see, my band-mate, Sidney, double booked us for interviews tomorrow," the lad explained.

In the background, I could hear some complaining. "I said I was sorry! It was an accident!"

"Oh, that's not very good…."

"No, it's not. So, we were hoping that maybe we could reschedule…?" he suggested.

I looked around the desk that was in front of me—not my own—searching for a piece of paper to write on. Not finding one, I turned back to the telephone in my hand. "Could you hold on just a minute—I need paper."

"Yeah, sure."

I moved the receiver away from my face, turning to Jane, who was standing just behind me. "Could you transfer this to my desk, please?"

"Of course." She took the telephone from me as I rushed off to my desk.

As soon as I got there, a light on the base of the telephone started flashing, telling me that I had someone on hold.

Before picking it up, I opened the folder with the information on the interview, looking for the date I had to have it in by.

Next week. It'd be fine to reschedule, as long as it was in the next day or so.

I pulled the notebook I had my notes on and picked up the phone, pressing the button next to the light that was flashing.

"Sorry about that."

"S'all right," he replied.

"We can reschedule, as long as it's on the next couple of days," I told him.

"Awesome!" Hugh cheered before it sounded as though he was looking at a book. "When would be good with you?"

"Well," I looked at the empty day planner on my desk. "I only have a meeting tomorrow morning and this interview for the next two days."

"Okay, so, then, would Wednesday morning at half-past-ten be fine?"

I looked down at the planner, already knowing that I didn't have anything for then, making it seem like I had to double check. "That would be good."

"All right. So, same place?"

"Sure. I'll see you Wednesday, then."

"Right. Thank you. Goodbye."

"'Bye now."

I made a note of the information as I waited until he hung up before putting the receiver down.

Getting up from my seat, I headed back the direction I came. Walking down the corridor towards Jane's desk, I noticed that everyone that was in the meeting room was walking out.

"What did I miss?" I asked Ben as he walked up to me.

"Nothing, really. They introduced the new employees; that was it; explained that you were the last one."

"Oh."

"What was the call about?"

"Reschedule."

"You should probably tell your boss about that, then."

"I was just looking for her." And I was. I was trying to look around six-foot Ben—but I wasn't able to; he was too tall and bulky—in a good, muscular way. "If only I could see around you…."

"Oh, sorry," Ben replied, moving towards the wall. "There she is!"

"Right. See you later." I walked down the hallway towards where Ms Margit was exiting the meeting room. "Ms Margit?" I called.

She turned to face me. "Yes, Adara?"

"I had a rescheduling; that's what that call was about," I told her.

"I figure as much. When was the interview moved to?" she asked.

"Wednesday at ten-thirty."

"All right. Then, make sure you have your questions ready for revision by the end of the day tomorrow."

"Will do."

She smiled tightly, nodding. "Great." And then, she turned and walked away.

I turned back around, and headed back for my desk.

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_make yourself at home by the starting line_

**_an:_**_ thank you for reading this! it means oh so much to me! :D_

_mcfly come in soon. i promise! :x_


	4. Dares to First Glances

**_an:_**_ Lookit! I finally fixed this up and am content enough to post it. It's been sitting, waiting to be fixed up for a LONG time and I finally got up the energy to fix it...all during my Stats class. (What a snooze!)_

_Anyways, here's the next chapter. I really hope you like it!_

**_disclaimer: _**__ I do not own the boys. They own themselves. I also do not own the songs that start each chapter.__

* * *

><p><strong>FOUR - DARES TO FIRST GLANCES<strong>

_And you stood there in front of me_

_Just close enough to touch_

_Close enough to hope you couldn't see_

_What I was thinking of_

"Are you Adara Palmer?" a girl, with dark hair that had pieces of bright blue in it, asked, walking up to me as I walked through the door of the coffee shop.

"I am. And its Adara," I corrected. "Dare is even easier, though," I added, smiling up—just slightly—at her.

"Oh, sorry, Hugh never told me. I'm Sidney!" she beamed, leading me to a table where a lad was sat. "This is Hugh."

He looked similar to Sidney—which made sense, as they were siblings.

"It's nice to meet you both," I said, taking the seat across from the two of them.

"It's Adara, correct?" Hugh checked, pronouncing my name properly.

I nodded, about to agree, but Sidney got there first.

"Just call her Dare!" she chirped, her beautiful voice chiming in my ears.

"Dare?"

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"Besides the fact that it's part of your name, technically, do you, like, do dares, or something like that?" he enquired.

I thought about it for a fraction of a second before answering. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay, cool."

* * *

><p>After the interview, Hugh and Sidney invited me to have lunch with them.<p>

"See that guy there?" she asked, pointing to someone across the road from where we were stood, finishing up our coffees from the coffee shop we had just left.

"The one with the shades on?"

"Indeedio!"

"What about him?"

"I _dare_ you to flirt shamelessly with him!" A smile brightened her face even more as it spread across her face, stopping near her eyes.

Throwing my hand to my mouth, covering it for a moment, I said, "Oh, you _dare_ me to flirt with some random stranger, eh?" I dropped my hand back to my side. "Like I haven't done that one before!"

"I'm going to _dare_ you, Dare," Hugh added, jumping in, "to get his number, too."

"Ooh, I think I just got a good challenge," I commented.

"Ooh, yay!" Sidney squealed, jumping up and down while clapping her hands together.

"Give me…," I began, contemplating how long it might take to get the lad's number and flirt him up. "Seven minutes."

"Seven, you're on. Get to it," Hugh urged, pushing me closer to the road separating us from the lad.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" I checked to make sure no cars were coming before stepping out and crossing the road quickly.

Pulling my fingers through my hair, I walked over to where the lad had stopped, looking at a magazine stand.

But when I arrived, my mind was blank of anything I had come up with on the brief walk across the road.

"Hey," I began, trying to gain his attention. Realising if I wanted to even consider flirting with him, I had work a little harder than that. "Hi," I tried again, this time a flirtatious tone in my voice. I picked up a magazine at random, pretending to be interested in what it was about.

He turned his head slightly, looking at me, looking taken aback. "H…h—hello," he stuttered back.

Picking up the chain that held a heart-shaped locket, which was hung around my neck, I began twisting it around a finger. "I really like your shades," I told him, smiling what I hoped was a flirtatious smile.

"Oh, thank you," he replied before removing them, uncovering his drop-dead, gorgeous eyes, pushing them up on his head. "That's a beautiful necklace you've got there," he added, causing me to stop my movement when his hand gently bushed mine, stopping me, as he stumbled forward when someone bumped him from behind. Startled, I dropped the magazine.

"Thanks," I said, still smiling. "I got it as a gift."

The smile he gave me as he pulled his hand back almost melted my heart. It was _that_ amazing.

"Well—it looks gorgeous on you."

"Oh, thank you." I could feel my cheeks redden by his comment.

I wasn't used to this—the way he was talking so sweetly to me, or the fact that I was blushing, I wasn't sure which, but one or the other was giving me a weird feeling in my stomach. It was all new to me—even if I had dated plenty of guys, and flirted with countless others.

I had completely forgotten about the dare—something that rarely happened when I was taking part in one—and I guessed that it was because he was mesmerising me with his smile and the way he was looking into my eyes.

"Sorry to make you blush and run," he said, a smile toying on his lips. I was baffled by his comment—most guys I had just met wouldn't be so straight forward over the fact that he had made me blush. "But," he added, bringing me back to the moment, "I'm due in a meeting like"—he looking to the watch on his wrist—"ten minutes ago."

I laughed while adjusting his wrist so I could see the time. "I'm actually late for a meeting myself. Thanks for reminding me."

"Anytime," he said, and I turned to go. I was almost at the road again when he called after me. I turned back, but stayed where I was.

"You forgot your magazine," he said, holding it up.

I had completely forgotten about that as well, suddenly remembering that I had dropped it when he had touched my hand, but I rushed back to retrieve it anyways. "Thanks, again," I smiled, passing the vendor some bills. "Maybe I'll see you around some time," I added as I started to back away.

He nodded, his sunglasses slipping back down to his nose, covering his eyes.

Turning around I began to walk back to the road once more. Before I got too far, though, I turned back, glancing back at him, offering one last smile, and waving my fingers in a seductive manner.

Spinning back to the road before me, I quickly looked both way—knowing what could happen if I didn't (I'd almost been hit by cars a few too many times….)—before crossing, heading down the street in the direction of Hugh and Sidney.

Rounding the corner, I stopped to wait for them to catch up with me.

"That was _fast_!" Sidney commented, shock evident on her face.

"Well, what can I say?"

"Did you get his number?" Hugh enquired, a tone that sounded as if I might not have gotten it in his voice.

"Right here." I held up the magazine, showing them the number that was scribbled across the back for a brief second before turning it back to me. I hadn't known for sure that it was there, but I was pretty certain that it had been the reason he had called me back to get the dropped and forgotten magazine. I pulled out my phone and added the number to my address book under the name 'Sunglass Boy'—of course—just in time for Sidney to snatch the magazine away.

"Since when do you read _Business Monthly_?" she asked, looking at the front.

"I don't," I shrugged. "But it was right next to what he was looking at."

"Right. So, shall we get some lunch now?" Hugh asked just as him stomach began to grumble. "I'm famished!"

"I second that!" Sidney added, her stomach also grumbling.

We laughed as we headed into a café just down from where we were.

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_sparks fly by taylor swift_

**_an: _**_I hope you like it. And I plan on putting up another one soon (soon as in before...the end of November, I guess)._

_Feel free to let me know who you think the mystery lad might be. I'd love to know who you think it might be._

_ps; there will be more hints in coming chapters!_

_Thanks for reading! :D_


	5. Cartoon Calls

_**an: **Sorry it's taken me quite so long to put this here. I kept forgetting and the program wouldn't work for a few weeks (true story, bro)._

_Lame excuses, I know. But here's more now. Hope you like it. (:_

**_disclaimer: _**_I do not own any of the lads in Mcfly, no matter how much I wish this weren't true. What I do own is my mind and imagination - in other words, I own what comes out of my head. Thank you. (;_

* * *

><p><strong>FIVE - CARTOON CALLS<strong>

_Can't you hear, it sounds so clear_

_In my ears there's a voice_

_WE'LL NEVER GIVE IT UP!_

"Can I borrow your phone?" Lauren asked as I plopped down on the sofa, picking my laptop back up and setting it on my lap.

"Why?" I asked back, looking at her over my shoulder.

"I'm out of minutes."

"What about the landline?"

"It's down."

"Again!" I whined.

"Yeah. Sorry to say, but this place sucks more than we initially thought."

And that was a hard thing to believe. Considering we hated this place more than I hate pickles—and that's _a lot_. We only took it because it was all we could afford at the time—and still is.

"Great. Just what I need!" I cried, pointing to the table near the door where I left my phone when I got home earlier in the day.

"Thanks a million! I owe you!"

"Just make it quick." I turned back to my screen. "Thank goodness it's the end of the month today," I muttered, not loud enough for Lo to hear.

I started typing, working on the article I was writing.

"Hey, Dare?" Lo asked a few minutes later, sitting down in a chair across from me.

I looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"Who's 'Sunglass Boy'?" She held the phone out so I could see—which, I couldn't from the distance.

"Sunglass Boy?" I questioned, thinking about it for a good minute. "OH! He's some guy I was flirting with the other day."

"Another one?"

"Yeah, well I was dared to get his number."

"And that makes _such_ a difference!"

"Hey! He was gorgeous! I might just call him tomorrow!"

"What about now?"

"Umm, you're using my phone. And I'm almost out of minutes myself."

"Right. Because I _so _believe you!"

"It's so true!"

"I…."

Before she was able to say anything more, I stopped her. "I only have enough minutes to make _one quick_ five-minute call. Tops."

"I…."

I stopped her again. "And you wanted to use it. Anyways, do you really think it would make sense to call up some guy and say, 'Hi! Oh, I'm out of minutes, so 'bye now!' and hang up on him?"

She simply glared at me, pushing a button on my mobile and putting it to her ear.

"See? Even you think it's not nice." I smiled proudly, turning back to the screen before me.

'"_When times get hard, just hang in there!" suggested Hugh Jackman, Sasha Staar, recently when we caught up with him and Sidney.'_

"Tomorrow. At one. You are _so_ calling him," Lauren grumbled, pressing my phone to just above my chest as she passed by.

She wasn't usually in a bad mood, and I wasn't one to mess with her when she was in one, so I just let my mobile fall to my lap, knowing that she was annoyed with me.

"Whatever. It's just another challenge. No biggie."

"Are you going to get his name?"

"I don't know. I'll take it if he gives it to me, but I won't ask. Just like if he was to ask me, I'd tell him. But I like keeping them in the dark, not letting them know who I am." It was the same game I always played.

"Right. Got it. Again."

"Here," Lauren said, tossing me my cellular phone. Lucky for it, I was awake enough to catch it. "New day, new minutes."

"But it's not one yet," I pointed out, catching a glimpse of the clock situated behind her.

"I know. I'm just handing you your fully charged phone."

"But…." I didn't remember plugging it in to charge it….

"I charged it for you!" Lauren added, smiling brightly. Looked like her mood had passed with a good night's sleep.

"Oh, right. Thank you, I guess."

"I just didn't want your phone to die when you phone up 'Sunglass Boy'."

"Right. You think I'd back out of a dare?"

"No, that's not it. It almost cut out while I was talking to Josh last night for a whole three minutes."

"Oh, right." I slumped down on the sofa.

Lo soon joined me, bringing the carton of orange juice with her.

I turned on the television, flipping through the channels, stopping when I saw some cartoons. I've always loved watching Saturday morning cartoons!

We passed the carton back and forth, taking sips—we weren't typical girls—while we watched the show.

"Oh, look at that!" Lauren cried a while later.

"What?"

"It's a cute little spider!"

"Gah!" I pulled my feet up onto the sofa, pulling my knees to my chest.

"Just kidding!" She was laughing quite hard.

Damn her for knowing my one and only fear! Yes, even with my fear, I did dares that involved spiders—just so no one would know about it. Actually, Lauren was the only one who knew that I _was_ afraid of the vile creatures.

"Meany!" I cried, hitting her arm as she was about to take a sip of the juice.

I burst out laughing this time as she spilt it all over her pyjama-top.

"Not funny, Dary." She got up and headed to the bathroom to clean up.

I stopped laughing instantly. "Okay, now that's really _not funny_." She knew how much I hated being called that name.

"Sorry, Babes." She smiled at me innocently. "Oh! Look at that!"

"I'm not falling for it again." I turned back to the show on the screen.

"No! It's one!"

I pressed the display button on the remote, making it show the time. '1:01,' it read.

"Oh. I see." Blindly, I searched the sofa around me until my hand landed on what I was looking for—my mobile phone.

"Wait for me!" Lauren called, hurrying into the small room. "I'll just be a sec!"

"All right, whatever!" I called back, looking through my address book for 'Sunglass Boy'.

"Okay, whenever you're ready!" Lauren told me, plopping down in the chair across the room from me.

I pushed the green talk button on the phone and then pressed it to my ear, hearing it ring as I waited.

Soon, it ended when someone picked up.

"'Ello?" I could actually hear the sleep in the person's voice, if that makes any sense at all with me still sounding sane.

"Oh, did I wake you?"

"Oh," they began, sounding more awake instantly, "no, no."

'_Right_,' I though. "Hi," I began again, "I believe we met on the street the other day…?"

"We did?" The lad on the other end sounded kind of shocked.

"I ran into you at a newsstand. You wrote this number on the back of…er, _Business Monthly_," I remembered, laughing at the title I had picked.

"Oh! Right, I forget things easily," he told me.

Laughing a little as I said, "Yeah, I do, too. If it hadn't been for my mate, I probably would have lost your number in the mess that is my address book."

"I do that all the time and then will be like, 'Who's that again!'"

"We share a small world, then," I commented.

"We truly do."

"Hmm, I'm going to call you Sunglass Boy. I mean, if that's all right with you."

"Sure," he replied, and I could hear the shrug in his voice. "I guess I'll call you Necklace Girl, then."

"Works with me," I responded, a smile in my voice and on my face.

"Dude, where are you!" I heard someone calling in the background.

"Hang on a second, please?" he asked, and before I could respond, he was saying something to the other person. "I'm on the telephone!" And a second after that, he was back. "Sorry about that."

"S'all right," I told him. "Do you have to go? I mean, is this a bad time?"

He hesitated for a moment. "I'm just running a little late."

"Ah. So, why don't I give you my number and you can give me a shout when you're not in a rush," I suggested.

"That would be lovely."

As I told him my mobile number, I looked at Lauren's face, noticing her eyes were the size of saucers and she look as though she was trying hard not to laugh. Or scream. Or freak out—they all looked similar when you just look a quick glance before away again.

"Okay, I'll ring you later…sometime," Sunglass Boy told me.

"Sounds good. Talk to you another time," I replied before flipping my cellular phone shut and heading to my room to get ready for the day, a smile on my face.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>turn it down by heaven's gate_

_**an:** I hope you like it. :3 again, feel free to let me know who you think mystery boy is. I'd love to know who you all think it is. (Plus, I love guessing games. :3)_

_Well, keep on keeping on. Thanks for reading; later!_


	6. Pixie and Dixie and the Calls

_**an:** hi! lookit! I'm updating this only a little over a week after I last posted a chapter! woo, go me!_

_anyways, I would have had this up sooner, but I wanted to tweak things and then one thing led to another, and there's probably only about four lines (okay, that's an exaggeration) from what I started with. haha. and then I had some major tests this week._

_thank you for reading the last one, too! I really like finding out who you think the mystery band member is. (I've got some for Dougie, a Danny, and 'I'm not fussy.')_

_anywhoo, here's the next one._

_**disclaimer: **mcfly, those incredibly talented and beautiful boys, belong to themselves and themselves alone. however, the ideas of this are mine, all mine, I cooked them up in this mental head that sits on my shoulders. thank you.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>SIX - PIXIE AND DIXIE AND THE CALLS<strong>

_I remember a year ago  
><em>_I was standing in the crowd  
><em>_Waiting for my chance to break through  
><em>_My chance to live again_

Publication day meant a half day for the writers. Which was a good thing for me, seeing as I had never been published before and was insanely nervous about it – I might have worked at a few different magazines and newspapers before finally landing my current job, but I had never been able to get any of my work published in them.

It also meant that I got to bug Lauren while she worked.

"Do you have a copy of it, Pixie?" Lauren asked, barely glancing up from what she was working on. "So I can read your beautiful words, over and over and over again?"

Pixie was the name Lauren had given me when we were seven. That was when we decided that we were sick of our bland and boring names that everyone else used and decided we needed nicknames for each other. It was also around that time that we fell in love with Hanna-Barbra's "Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks" cartoon from the late 1950's. She fell in love with Dixie, and I with Pixie. She started calling me Pixie, and I called her Dixie in return.

"Hot off the press, Dixie," I replied, handing her one of the copies of the magazine I had been given earlier in the day.

"Ooh, ooh! This is so exciting! My bestie's been published in a real magazine for the first time!" As she said this, she did a dance, pulling me in to do a twirl with her. "What page? What page!"

"Forty-two."

Sticking her pencil in her hair, she flipped open the magazine, stopping only once she reached the page. She read it out loud, but even if she didn't, I would have known exactly what it said, word for word, having read it over countless times over the past few days.

I must have zoned out while she was reading, because, suddenly, she was talking to me again.

"Pixie! This is awesome!" she cried, throwing her arms around me.

"You really think so? You're not just saying that, are you?"

"Why would I lie about something like this?"

"I don't know…." I was just playing with her now.

"I wouldn't, Adara! And I'm serious, this is amazing! You mum would be so proud of you right now."

"Thanks Lauren, that means a lot to me," I replied, meaning for her praise and for what she said about my mum. Pulling her into a hug, I added, "Seriously, thank you. So what are you working on Dix?" I looked over her shoulder at what was spread out on her work surface.

"In all honesty, I was thinking of you and was trying to draw _Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks_. But you know how I can't draw cartoons."

"Are you kidding me? This is your best work yet!" I wasn't entirely serious, but, cartoon-wise, her drawings were better than anything I've ever seen her draw. They could have been on television, and you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the actual show and her drawings – except, of course, that one was moving and the other was stationary.

"You're not serious, are you? Because I put a lot of work into that one I gave you for Christmas," she told me, a look of dread on her face.

"Cartoon-wise, I'm completely serious. And, believe me when I say this, that drawing you gave me? That's my favourite thing in that apartment of ours – besides you of course. I love and adore that drawing. Why do you think I have it framed on the wall?"

"I don't know."

"Seriously, Lauren. Believe me: I love it. And you are an amazing and super talented artist. You hear me?"

"I hear you," she replied with a smile.

I was just about to hug her again when my mobile started vibrating in my pocket. Fishing it out, I checked the screen to find out who was calling. Not recognizing the number, I gave the device a curious look.

"Who's calling?" Lauren asked, probably noticing my look.

"I don't know, actually."

"Maybe it's Sunglass Boy!" she proposed, sounding more excited than I felt.

I laughed. "Maybe." I flipped the top up, pressing it to my ear. "Hello?"

"OMIGOODIES!" was squealed into my ear, almost deafening me instantaneously.

"Oh, hey Sidney!" I had forgotten I had given her my number.

I looked at Lauren as her face turned from excited to confused, and laughed.

"Where are you?" Sidney asked.

"What do you mean, where am I?"

"I mean, we're at the magazine, and you're not."

"Oh. It's a half day for all us writer-types."

"Well! Hugh and I just read it!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! And we both say it's awesome!"

"Oh, thanks, Sid!"

"No, thank you! It was out first time really being in a magazine, and you made us sound super awesome and cool! And it's all awesome!" I could hear the smile in her voice.

"That's really cool. And I'm glad I could be the one to write your first interview. And I'm really glad you like it!"

"I'm glad that you're glad! Ooh! You should come out with us tonight! Hugh and the guys and I are going celebrating – being in the magazine _and_ our album dropping next week!"

"Congrats, but I don't know, I've never gone out with a band before."

"C'mon! It'll be fun! And if you're not having fun – which I highly doubt – you can leave whenever you want – but you have to stay at least an hour, okay?"

"You know what? Sure, I'll be there!"

I talked with Sidney a while longer, getting all the details. When we hung up, I told Lauren she was coming, too, and told her the plan. She seemed even more excited than Sidney had been.

"I should get home. I mean, what if my boss was to call and I wasn't there? She said they'd be letting us know what we're working on this month sometime today."

"Alright, bye-bye!"

"See you in a bit, Dixie!" I called as headed back for the door.

Just as I was about to pull the door open, my purse started vibrating.

"Boy, Pix! You sure are popular today!" Lo called as I pulled my pulled my mobile back out.

Just as before, I didn't know the number being displayed.

* * *

><p><strong><em>song:<em>** _in fate's hands by the red jumpsuit apparatus_

_**an:** there you have it. the title for the chapter as well as the girls' nicknames come from the show 'Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks,' like I wrote. I absolutely adore Hanna-Barbra cartoons, so I thought they should too. (Though, I don't think I've actually seen this one, but I just adored the names so I thought they should have them! :3)_

_thank you for reading and feel free to leave a review. :3_

_also, I just have one question for you:_

_who do you think is calling her this time?_


	7. Sunglass Boy and Necklace Girl

**_an: _**_sorry I haven't updated this in sososo long. I've had this ready and waiting for a very long time. I'm going to try to post this quickly, as I might not get a chance as soon as I start making my way back to uni next month._

_sorry, it's just filler, really. the one after the next is where things get interesting... :)_

**_disclaimer: _**_the ideas are mine, the band is not._

* * *

><p><strong>SEVEN - SUNGLASS BOY AND NECKLACE GIRL<strong>

_I've never been so lost  
>I've never felt so much at home<br>Please write my folks and throw away my keys_

I put my mobile to my ear. For the second time in such a short span. "Hello?" I asked.

"Necklace Girl?"

"Oh, hey Sunglass Boy. Your ears must have been burning – we were just talking about you a few minutes ago."

"Hmm, maybe that was why I suddenly had an inkling to call you now." I could hear the smile in his voice, just as I had been able to with Sidney. "Oh, and sorry about last week. I was _really_ running late."

"S'all good."

"Oh, and I just wanted to thank you for waking me – even if I claimed you didn't – because you waking me is a heck of a lot better than my mates waking me."

"Oh, not a problem." I brushed it off. "So, do your mates wake you up with torturous things and such?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I do it to them, too, though. It usually happens when one or two of us sleep in a bit, making us late for something, and the other or others decide it's best to wake him, in the noisiest way that they can think of possible."

I laughed. "That sounds fun."

"It is. Unless you're the victim."

"Ah, yes," I agreed, a laugh still in my voice. "That's right. So, you work with your mates then?"

"Well, yeah….pretty much…."

"Pretty much?"

"It's more of a lifestyle than a job—or career—per say."

"Oh, yeah, that's cool, then."

"More fun than work."

"Then that would be cool! I mean, who really wants to work? I mean, I know _I_ don't."

"Well, I figure, that's the idea."

"What's more important than having fun?"

"I really don't think there's much. But then again, fun is my middle name."

"So I'd guess." I thought about it for a moment. "My mates might same the same for me, what with everything I've done."

"And what is it you've done?" Sunglass Boy asked, sounding curious.

"Well, I've down some risky things before, all for fun. To pick a few, I've cliff dived, snogged strangers at random, and gone skinny dipping in broad daylight. I've done some pretty stupid things, too, but they were all dares."

"You're one for a good dare then?"

"If there's something worth doing, then, yes. I mean, if someone was to say to me, 'call the Chinese restaurant down the street and order everything off the menu and then tell them the address to the flat downstairs,' then, no, I won't do it. I haven't done prank calls since I was about twelve. Especially that one. I always felt bad after them.

"Oh! There was this one time I was dared to do something just like that and so I made the call, and about five minutes later, I called back and apologized. They had figured it was a prank and hadn't made any of the food, but I still felt bad about wasting their time, so placed a real order.

"But seriously, the dare has to be something good."

"So, what you're saying is the dare is only as good as the challenge itself?"

"Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying!"

"That's something good to know."

"So, what about you? Why is fun your middle name?"

"I spend most of my days doing whatever I love doing most. And my nights usually involve going to a pub or party with my mates and just enjoying the night."

"Parties? Oh." I sighed. "I haven't been to one of those in a while. But then again, I haven't had the time for it." I paused for a minute. "Wait a minute! Technically, I'm going to a party tonight!" I laughed at my mistake.

Sunglass Boy joined in.

"I have a scatterbrain. I often forget things. Even if I have just said something, it'll have slipped my mind."

"Ugh, it sucks when that happens."

Even though he couldn't see, I rolled my eyes as I said, "Tell me about it." As I spoke, I walked into my bedroom and sat down, talking off my three-inch heels. "Ugh. You know what I hate?"

"No. What's that?"

"High-heels."

"I agree!"

"Dude! You've worn high-heels?!"

"Oh, yes. Some things you can't stop. Like, when you're drunk."

I laughed before saying, "Indeed! Way to go, getting into the female prospective!"

"Oh yes!"

"They kill your feet! And I hate them. Though," I paused for a second, sighing, "they are cute when I have to dress up and act tall…."

He laughed.

"Though," I sighed again, "I'd rather wear trainers, or something comfy like that."

"A girl who can dress up? And likes to be comfy? Oh, that's my kind of girl!"

I laughed as I lay back on my bed. "My kind of guy, too! You know, except change the 'girls' in what you said to 'guys'…."

* * *

><p>It may have been almost two weeks since I had seen him, but I could remember almost every detail I had taken in when I spoke with him:<p>

The way his hair glowed in the sunlight;

The way his shades looked on his tanned face;

The glow in his beautifully gorgeous eyes;

They way his accidental touch felt on my skin, making a tingle jolt through my arm;

The way his smile appeared as I looked back while I walked away, such perfection on his beautiful face.

No, I wasn't obsessed. I was just a bit extra observant that day. Because, believe it or not, I'm not actually all that observant. I just take a look and, minutes later, I'll have forgotten most of what I had just seen.

But, with Sunglass Boy, I was able to remember everything that I took in of him.

I was still on my mobile with him an hour later, when the landline started to ring.

"Oh, can you hold on a moment – I have to get that – it may be my boss."

"All right."

I picked up the receiver, pressing the 'talk' button, and pressed it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Adara Palmer? This is Kelly Margit."

"Oh, hello Ms Margit," I replied.

"I've assigned the next articles," she began, "and I wanted to inform you on your next one, as it's the weekend."

"Oh, that's so kind of you! Thank you."

"Oh." She sounded taken aback. "You're welcome. Okay, so, for your next piece, you will be reviewing an upcoming concert and talking to the band."

"Really? Awesome!"

"Yes. The concert will be next Wednesday. You will have an All-Access Pass, so you can go wherever."

"Super cool!" It was the first thing that popped into my head that showed any amount of joy I had towards my assignment. And I was excited about it—I loved going to concerts and being able to go anywhere would make it all the more awesome. Although, 'super cool' sounded really lame in my ears.

My boss laughed light-heartedly. "And then, afterwards, you'll go and chat with the band." She paused a heartbeat before adding, "And, this time, you'll have about two weeks to write everything up, rather than just a few short days."

"Awesome. Sounds good."

"Do you have any questions?" she asked. She usually asked that that the end of our meeting. It was one of those things I could rely on to know that I would be free to do whatever after—not that I didn't like my boss, or anything, it's just, she…intimidated me.

I thought about it for a long second. "Yes, actually I do."

"All right, continue."

"What is the band?"

"Oh, that would be McFly."

My eyes bulged. Was she serious? I had heard them on the radio. And I knew they were famous. Though I wasn't a big fan of them myself, I enjoyed listening to them.

"Seriously?" I squeaked.

"Yes." She said the word slowly, as if she was a little freaked by my reaction.

Shaking my head clear, I added, "Oh, sorry about that. I was…startled. I really wasn't expecting that. And, no, I'm not a huge fan; though, I do like listening to them when I hear them on the radio."

"Right. Okay."

"Great. Thanks! I'll see you Monday?"

"Right. Goodbye." She hung up before I said anything more.

I put the receiver back down and turned to the other phone in my hand. '_Oh crap!_' I thought. '_I'm going to go over my minutes for this month is a single day. _Great_._'

"Oh, sorry about that," I said into the mouth piece.

"You sure sounded excited about something…?"

"Oh, yes. My boss just told me what my next job is—it's exciting." I had already told him what I did for a living while we had been talking.

"Oh?"

"Mmhmm, I'm reviewing a concert next week."

"Really? What concert?"

I paused before responding. "Oh, just McFly."

He started coughing on the other end, sound as though he was choking.

"Are you alright?" I asked, sounding concerned.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. I'm fine. …And that sounds cool."

"Yeah, I'm quite excited." As I spoke, I glanced up at the clock that was on the wall in the kitchen. "Oh! I should get going! I didn't realise we'd been talking so long."

"Oh," he said, sounding like he just saw the time, too, "wow. I guess I'll talk to you again later."

"Yes, bye-bye."

As soon as I flipped my cellular phone shut, Lauren walked through the door.

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_i woke up in a car by something corporate._

**_an: _**_thanks for reading, feel free to leave a review. ;)_


	8. Clean Polos and Kate

_**an: **your reviews make me happy, thanks for them. :)  
><em>

_**disclaimer:** don't own mcfly.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>EIGHT - CLEAN POLOS AND KATE<strong>_  
><em>

_Do you like my stupid hair?  
>Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?<br>I'm too scared of what you think  
>You make me nervous so I really can't eat<em>

"You never told me," Lauren began as we dug into our Chinese the following Monday night, "who's your next article about?"

"Umm…." I was hesitating, withholding the information from her, knowing how she'd react. "Well, it's McFly."

At that, her jaw dropped to the floor. Literally. Okay, maybe not literally, but it was pretty close to hitting the floor. She reacted in a similar fashion when I told her about Sasha Starr, too, seeing as she just loved everyone and was amazed by any musicians and entertainers. As well as when I told her that I was talking with Sidney before telling her about plans for our night out with the band.

Which reminded me: Our night out with Sasha Starr had been a lot of fun, lasting a lot longer than Sidney's mandatory hour. It was a bit of a haze, having drunk a bit too much, but it had been fun just to let loose. Sidney seemed to get a kick out of the fact that I liked doing dares, and seeing as she was celebrating, and I was kind of drunk, I was more willing than usual to do some dares that I might not have normally found worthwhile. Dares that aren't even worth mentioning. It wasn't that I didn't like the dares she was giving me – it was just that, for most of them anyways – I had been there and done that a few too many times when I was younger.

And as for Lauren? She was the one that ran around, trying to keep me from making the biggest fool of myself yet – failing all the same, but still trying.

Once she recovered, she started squealing like the little girl I knew she was, but always tried to keep hidden. "OMIGOSH, ADARA! YOU'RE _SO TOTALLY_ LUCKY!"

My only reaction to this was to laugh. So, I did. Soon, Lauren had joined in, too.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked, composing herself.

"You didn't ask."

"Oh, don't use the 'Stephanie Tanner' trick on me." She swatted at my arm.

"Well, it's true! You _didn't_ ask."

"Right. But you could have _told_ me."

"Hmm, I like seeing your reaction like this."

She glared at me for a second and then smiled again. Her smile usually always made me smile, too, and that's what it did now.

"Do you get to meet them?"

I nodded.

"When?"

"Wednesday evening."

"But…but…but…."

"They have a concert?"

This time, she nodded.

"I know. I'm reviewing it."

"OMIGOSH! PIXIE YOU ARE ONE LUCKY GIRL!" Lo squealed at me.

"So I've heard," I laughed.

"No, seriously. You are!"

I tried ignoring her, turning back to the television show and the carton of Chinese food in my hand.

But I failed.

"…lucky girl that Pixie is!"

"Okay, Dixie, enough, please!"

She looked at me, her face changing from one with a smile spread from ear-to-ear to a smirk, realising she had caught a nerve with me.

"Fine, whatever." And then she dug into her Chinese.

* * *

><p>"Lauren!" I opened my bedroom door, only wearing my light-blue, straight-leg jeans and a bra, and poked my head into the hallway. "Have you seen the polo I was planning on wearing!?"<p>

I was already running late, and not being able to find my shirt would make me even later.

"No, I haven't." She appeared in the hall just in front of me. "Which one were you planning on wearing again?"

I looked blankly at her. "That one." She was wearing the yellow polo I had washed just for the occasion.

"Oh, I didn't realise." Her expression showed that she was truly sorry. "It was just sitting there…and I needed a clean shirt for my showcase…."

"Yes, I washed it so I could wear it tonight."

"I'm sorry. I'll take it off…."

She was just about the pull the yellow thing over her head, but I stopped her. "Don't worry about it, Dix, I'll find another. I'm sure there's another clean shirt I can wear…somewhere around here…." I walked away from my door as I spoke, going to my closet and digging through the clothes hanging in there, and also the one in the shelves just below. And the ones that were on the floor.

"I'll help you!" She bounded into the room. "You seem to have got that. I'll check my room!"

"Great; thanks!"

After searching through all my clothes, clean and not, Lauren sprung back into my room, carrying a light purple polo with her.

"It's the last one!" she exclaimed as she tossed it over.

It was always a good thing that Lauren and I were almost the same size—I mean, she was almost a whole head taller than me, but other than that we were almost the same size—or else we wouldn't be the perfect flatmates.

"Thanks!" I smiled as I pulled a pair of ankle socks on and then grabbed my purple low-top Converses, heading for the lounge to put them on.

"No problem; I owed you." She took one of the shoes from me, untying it as I untied the other, sitting down on the sofa. "Foot."

I gave her a confused look as I slipped the shoe that I had on my foot.

"Give me your other foot!"

I obliged, not wanted to upset my best friend, and gave her my left foot.

Once she had access to it, she put the shoe on and tied it up.

I laughed, tying on the right one.

"There. Off you go!"

"My sweater!" I exclaimed as I stopped at the door, about to go get it.

"The navy one?"

"The beige one."

"On your bed?"

"Yeah."

Lauren ran to my room, retrieving it, and gave it to me. I pulled it on before grabbing my handbag—which had seven things in it: my mobile, my keys, my ID, my All-Access Pass, my pen and notepad and voice recorder, and my cash—and opened the door.

"I'll try to bring you back something," I told her as I headed for the stairs.

"You better," she replied with a small smile.

"Got to go! I'll see you later!"

"Have fun!"

I raced down the stairs and out the door, stopping only when I reached Starbucks, to grab a coffee and muffin for a snack, as I hadn't eaten much since lunch.

With my coffee, muffin, and handbag in hand, I quickly headed for the tube.

It was a good thing that my whole plan was to leave round 6 pm, and get to the concert hall for about 7 pm, so I'd still be early.

When I got home from work, albeit early, I was still running later than I'd initially planned. After showering, and straightening my hair, I was running even later, realising those things had taken longer than I'd wanted them to—really, it was the shower, it just felt so nice.

So, it was a good thing, then, that I was in time for the 6.45 train and was at the location round 7.30—seeing as the trains were running quite early—so I wasn't even later for the 8 pm start time.

"Are you Adara Palmer?" a voice asked as I walked in after showing the guard outside the door my pass.

I turned to see a girl, probably a few years older than I, walking over to me.

"I am indeed."

"Right, follow me," she instructed. "I'm Kate."

Her copper hair reached down past her shoulder blades, and to the center of her back, looking gorgeous. I could tell, just by looking at her, she was naturally thin. As well as beautiful—anyone's dream girl.

Kate showed me around the place, showing me where I could go and where I couldn't, and where everything was—like the loo and food that anyone working backstage (apparently, I was included in this group) could eat.

And then, as Kate's tour came to an end, the show began.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song:<strong> first date by blink-182_


	9. Flying Drumsticks

**_disclaimer: _**_mcfly own themselves. i own the ideas._**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>NINE - FLYING DRUMSTICKS<strong>_  
><em>

_Feels like we've walked into the circus  
>Where everyone is friendly<br>Only on the surface_

"I'm to take you to meet the band now," Kate said as she found me after the show.

She must have had perfect timing, as I had just finished writing some ideas that had popped into my head as the concert had come to an end that would be good to put on paper so I wouldn't forget them when I went to work on it later.

"Oh, awesome," I replied, standing and following after her. "But…but, first, could I use the loo?"

"Oh, of course!" Kate stopped, turning back to face me, a smile appearing on her face.

"Which way is it again?" I hadn't been to it since she had showed me around the building at the beginning of the evening.

"Right down that corridor," she replied, pointing to a hallway just off to my left.

"Got it; thanks." I bounded down the way, only stopping when I got where I needed.

About three short minutes later, I rejoined Kate again, and we were on our way again, headed for the band.

Stopping at a closed door, Kate knocked on it lightly. When there was no response, she knocked again, this time, a bit louder. When, again, there was no response, she picked up her mobile-like-phone, and spoke into it.

"Is the band in the room?" she asked into it.

"They finished about ten minutes ago, so they should be in there," a man's voice said, coming through the speaker.

"Right, so I guess they're not paying much attention again." Her question was more of a statement.

But he answered anyways. "Guess so. Just knock again and cautiously go in—you know how the lads are."

"Right, got it. Thank you, Paul."

Kate put the device away and knocked again, this time, even louder.

Behind her, I shifted from one foot to the other, getting slightly anxious.

"Girls coming in!" Kate called, placing a hand over her eyes, peeking through two of her fingers.

"Hey Kate!" someone in the room called out. "What're you doing?"

Removing her hand after checking the entire room, she turned to the person speaking to her. "Just making sure everything is how it should be."

"And it is!" another voice chanted.

"Good. And you have someone to talk with you."

As she waved me in, I heard the second voice saying, "We do?"

"Yes, we do," the first voice said.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?" the second complained, rubbing the back of his head where the first had smacked him.

All I could do was giggle at the scene playing out before me.

"Guys!" Kate bellowed over an almost-retort from the first. "This is Adara." She motioned to me.

"Hello! Lovely to me—e—t…y—o—u…." I said, my speak slowing as one of the guys came from a room off to the side. I cleared my throat, trying again. "I mean, lovely to meet you—holy molasses!"

The two who had been having their argument when I stepped into the room looking at me confusedly.

The one who I was slightly gaping at seeing seemed to be mirroring my expression.

"What's going on?" another guy asked, appearing next to me.

Shaking my head, I changed my expression to one of a smile.

"So, we meet again," the one I recognised said, a smile also appearing on his face.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" the second guy cried, confusing written all over his face.

"Mate," Sunglass Boy said, turning to the little blonde confused one, "remember how I was telling you about a girl I was talking to for hours the other day? Necklace Girl?"

"Yeah?"

He still wasn't getting this.

"Umm," Sunglass Boy began, pondering how to make this work. "If Necklace Girl is in the vicinity, can she please say something?" he called out, louder than actually needed, to make a point.

Playing along, I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Hellooooooooo-o-o-o!"

"OH!" the other said, realization appearing on his face.

"So," the first guy began, "you two have met before?"

I nodded. "Certainly, we have."

"Well, I'll leave you lot to it, then," Kate said, pushing past the lad that was still stood next to me in the doorway.

"See you, Kate!" the guy next to me called after her as she headed down the hall—I assumed, I didn't know for sure, but when I looked over, she had gone.

"I'm Danny, by the way," the redhead next to me said, turning and offering me his freckled hand.

I shook his hand quickly before dropping it again. "You weren't here when I got introduced, were you?"

He shook his head in response.

Smiling, I told him, "I'm Adara, then!"

"_That_ is a _weird_ name!"

"Danny!"

"Whoa!" A drumstick came close to hitting his freckled face, but he ducked just in the _nick_ of time.

The whole 'drumstick almost hitting Danny in the face' thing made me laugh, but I was doing my best to hold it in—but it was easier said than done. I looked over to the lads, noticing one was doing the same thing, a second looked shocked, and the third looked disappointed—I assumed he was the one to throw the stick.

"I didn't mean '_weird_' in a bad way. What I meant to say was _pretty_ and _unique_. Honestly." The expression on his face showed that he was, in fact, being truthful. "Sorry for any misunderstanding."

I believed him. "I get that a lot. No worries." I pushed it off with my hand. "And thanks."

"Why don't we," Danny suggested, still talking just to me, "move further into the room?"

"Oh! What a brilliant idea!" I cried, pretending it was the best idea I'd ever heard.

He could tell I was joking around with the smile that appeared after my comment.

"Why hadn't I thought of that?" I asked, mainly to myself, but also to Danny, as we walked into the room.

He closed the door once he was completely out of the way before making his way over to a sofa behind where I was still standing and sitting down.

Being with these children-like men made me a little anxious. Except that was a lie: It made me feel right at home.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>stay with me by breathe electric_

_**an: **thanks. :) any last guesses now that you know who it's_ not _and before__ you find out? :3  
><em>


	10. The Guys

_**disclaimer: **tom, danny, dougie, and harry own themselves. thank you.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>TEN - THE GUYS<strong>

_Tell me, tell me,  
>Do you feel the pressure?<br>Alright, so you think you're ready?  
>Ok, then you'll say this with me<em>

One of the guys before me scurried across the room in order to retrieve his misplaced drumstick – this was what clued me into him being the drummer. "Dougie, stop throwing my stuff at our thick guitarist!" he complained to the blonde.

"I'm sorry," the other replied, looking anything but sorry. "It's just that it was the first thing I saw when he said that bad, bad remark!"

"I said I was sorry!" Danny complained from on the sofa behind me.

"You did—you're off the hook in my book," I told him.

The one called Dougie giggled like a small child as he sat next to Danny. "That rhymed!"

"It sure did, Doug," Danny replied.

And then I heard a smack, quickly followed by an, "Ow!" which led me to believe that Danny had smacked him.

"What was that for?" He then leaned over and started attacking his friend.

"Okay, stop it. Stop it – we have company!" Danny cried, before bursting out into a fit of laughter as the other hit a spot that was ticklish – I was (obviously) assuming this information, as I didn't know where he was ticklish.

But I didn't pay much mind to them. I was paying attention to the lad who was stood in the middle of the room, looking mildly amused by what was going on before taking a seat on a chair that was the near the sofa that Dougie and Danny were sat on.

"Guys!" Dougie said, making everyone turn to face him. "She doesn't know who you are properly!"

"Actually," I jumped in, "I don't know who _you_ are either."

The three others laughed while Dougie looked defeated. "Oops." Then, he jumped up suddenly. "I'm Dougie!" He sounded much too cheery for his own good, and I was completely fine with that – I loved boys with his sort of energy. "Now," he added, looking to each of the nameless boys in the vicinity, "who are you?"

"Oh, right," the blonde one of the two began, looking in my direction, "I'm Tom." He flashed me a smile, showing off a dimple on his left cheek.

"And," the other started, him being a brunette, "I'm Harry." He also shot me a smile while he spoke.

"Lovely to meet you all!" I told them, offering a genuine smile. "Just – feel free to call me Dare."

"Okay!" Dougie smiled a million-dollar smile at me. "So, Dare, how did you and Tom meet?"

I looked over at Tom—or Sunglass Boy—quickly, then turned back to answer Doug.

"Well, I was out with some mates and I saw him."

"There's _got_ to be more than that!" Danny declared.

I tried thinking of a way to leave the whole 'dare' part out of the number, but nothing came to mind.

"Hey, SB, didn't I kind of tell you I'd be here the other day?"

Tom seemed to think for a moment. "Umm…maybe you did."

"Okay. I think I did, but it could have been someone else."

He blushed a tiny bit before mumbling, "Maybe I didn't remember how gorgeous you were?"

I pretended I didn't hear it, as I was sure he was trying to keep it from me, as well as the other lads.

"So," Dougie jumped in, oblivious to what his mate had just said, "the rest of the meeting?"

I thought for a split second. "Hey!" I said after a minute of them all looking at me. "Aren't I supposed to be asking _you_ the questions? Not the other way around?"

"Well…," Harry began, looking as if he was thinking.

"If we answer your questions, we get to ask you some, and you have to answer!"

I looked to Danny, who was smiling like a genius after his comment.

"Yes!" Tom exclaimed.

"What he said!" Dougie chanted, pointing at Tom.

I looked at each of the lads, a defeated look appearing on my face. "I guess I have no chose, then, do I?"

Harry smiled triumphantly at me. "Guess not."

* * *

><p>"Okay, now that you know about us," Tom began, "it's our turn to question you!"<p>

Moments before this, I had asked the lads about anything and everything that I could think of—as well as the things that some of my colleagues had told me to ask about. I was trying to cover as much as possible—everything from tours, a new album, fans, personal lives, pets, and girls.

And, when the comment popped up, I had just come out of the loo, where I was taking my precious time pulling my hair up into the elastic that seemed to be permanently on my wrist.

Pretending to be quite grumpy over the matter—though, I didn't like telling people about me and any aspect of it, I could never really be caught being too grumpy—I stumbled over to where the lads were, having changed seats a bit.

Before I slunk out, Dougie had been on the table facing me, Danny had been on one side of me, Tom still in the lone chair, and Harry was on my other side. Now, Danny seemed to have been pushed into the middle of the sofa, Dougie having staked claim on the seat, and Harry on the one end of the sofa, although Dougie's legs were across both boys. Tom was still in the chair.

Seeing Doug, and the expression on Danny's face, made me laugh.

Dougie looked over at me, moved his feet, and motioned for me to sit on his lap.

Still laughing as I approached the table, where I was fine with sitting, Dougie grabbed my arm, pulling me down on him, sideways.

He, then, proceeded in holding me there, making me a little uncomfortable with where my legs were—squished against the bottom of the sofa and Danny and Dougie's legs. I knew that the only way to be comfortable with Dougie holding me there would be to put me legs across Danny and my feet in Harry's lap. So I did.

"Hey! I thought I got rid of people laying over me!" Danny complained.

"Sorry, mate, I kind of have to," I told him, pointing out that Dougie had a death-like-grip on me—only, I could breath, and couldn't move.

He sighed heavily. "Fine. But you have to answer _all_ the questions then."

I glared at him for a second before turning my gaze on Harry, who was now speaking.

They asked me the basic questions about me—about my name, and where it came from; about my childhood; and about, well, me, to put it simply.

"What is…," Dougie started, "your favourite colour?"

"That's it? You've had six minutes to think of something to ask, and that's what you come up with?" I asked back.

"Yes. I was thinking."

"Right."

"So?"

"Purple." I held up my foot, just in case he didn't know what the colour looked like.

"That's a cool colour," Dougie commented.

"Next."

I looked to Danny, who was the next 'in line' to ask me a question—that's how we decided to do this; the order that they were sitting in was the order of the questions, and they took turns asking, going around in a circle. Technically, we were playing what I referred to as 'Truth', seeing as I was only allowed to answer truthfully—and I had already had my turn.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>born for this by paramore._

_**an: **well, there you have it!_


	11. Questions, Hugs, and Whatnot

_**an: **thank you for your reviews! :) they continue to make me smile just as much as ever.  
><em>

_**disclaimer: **no ownership over those amazing and talented blokes.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>ELEVEN - QUESTIONS, HUGS, AND WHATNOT<strong>_  
><em>

_I know that she barely knows me  
>And I'm fake in love with her<br>It's like I'm singing karaoke  
>And I forgot the second verse<em>

I was just sitting back down on the table – Dougie had decided it wasn't worth setting Danny off any longer by making me sit on his lap – ready – but not quite so willing – to answer more of the questions they had declared I answer for them. I assumed they were torturing me like this because I had already kind of met Tom and had talked with him for quite a few hours a few days earlier, but for all I knew, they did this with everyone who interviewed them for an article.

"It's my turn! It's my turn!" Danny chanted from where he was now sitting on the floor between the sofa and the table, sounding quite excited.

"Go for it, goofy," I replied, a smile creeping across my face in reaction to his excitement.

"Would you rather chose truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Would you always pick dare?" asked Harry.

"Most likely…." I had a bad feeling about where this was headed.

"I dare you to tell us," Tom began as it was now his turn, "what the full story behind our meeting is – you diverted the question quite quickly when asked earlier."

That had just proven my feeling to be correct. If there was anything I didn't like having to do, it was being honest with the people I had been put into a dare-situation with. The whole thing made me jumping and nervous, and it just felt downright awkward.

I sighed before I went into explained the day that I had interviewed Sidney and Hugh of Sasha Starr and had been dared by the siblings.

"So." It was Dougie's 'turn' now. "You guys met through a dare?"

I nodded. "Not a very good one, might I add," I commented, laughing, mostly at their reaction to my story.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, because I've had dares saying 'go kiss that wet dog – who just happened to take a dump moments before – on the bum,' and 'stand in the window of the store, like a mannequin, acting like a porn star'. By the way, the store was a sporting goods store – no mannequins required."

They just stared at me wide-eyed in shock – at the last one most likely.

"Did you say… 'porn star'?" Harry asked slowly, clarifying it for all of them, I'm betting.

I nodded. "Yes. It was really quite funny. Though, thank goodness we were in a more private area, where there were no elderly or children running around," I laughed, thinking back to the afternoon.

"Why wasn't I there?!" Dougie blurted, taking my laughing from just a snigger to a full-blown eruption.

Other than laughing, I ignored the question while I turned to look at Tom, as he was up.

However, he simply pointed at Dougie, looking as though he was having a hard time working out his question.

"What Dougie said?" I checked.

Clearing his throat, he replied with, "Yeah."

"Well," I began, "it _was_ rather spur-of-the-moment, and the manager of the store _did_ stop it after about five minutes. And then there's the fact that I didn't know any of you eight years ago!"

I looked to Dougie as he had an outburst: "Wait a minute! Eight years ago, I was in a sporting goods store when there was a big commotion!"

"What were you doing in a sporting goods store?" Danny asked, sounding curious and startled.

"My mate dragged me in," Dougie replied as though it was perfectly obvious, and then turned back to the original topic. "I remember I wanted to know what was going on, but there were too many people around…."

I laughed. "Your loss, I guess."

* * *

><p>"Talk to me." I had just placed my mobile to my ear without taking a moment to find out who was calling.<p>

"Hey," Lauren greeted. "What happened to you?"

"Oh! I guess I lost track of the time." I took Danny's wrist, whose stomach my head was on as we laid on the floor, turning it so I could check the time. "My gosh! It's almost two-AM!" I practically shriek in shocked. In a softer voice, I added, "I'll be home within the next hour, babes."

Yawning, she said, "Don't expect me to wake you up if you sleep through your alarm in the morning. 'Bye," before hanging up.

As I put my phone away, I was met with four quizzical stares. "My roomie…or flatmate…or, actually, best mate," I explained. "I should be going now. I hadn't realised the time until just now."

After picking myself up off the floor, I headed to where I put my purse and bag – which I had received from the guys with band memorabilia inside, "Just 'cause," according to Dougie as he tossed it to me – and picked it up, turning then for the door.

"Hey, wait!" Harry called after me as I was about to open the dressing-room door.

"What?" I asked, turning back to face the four of them.

"We cannot let you ride the train home by yourself at two-in-the-morning. It would not be very… gentlemen – what the hell am I saying? – like."

I started laughing at the way he reacted to his own comment.

"We must accompany to your flat!" Dougie chirped, a huge smile on his face.

"What?!"

"He's not being serious," Tom mentioned.

I sighed a breath of relief before Dougie said, "Yes, I am," in a whiny tone.

"That's not what I meant, Doug, when I said that she can't go home on the train by herself."

"Then she'll come to ours? No, no, that wouldn't work – there's no where she could sleep. Plus, she told her mate that she'd be home soon…."

Dougie continued to ramble on before I loudly cleared my throat. "What _did_ you mean, then, Harry?"

"Umm…I guess that we'd have to have our driver drive you home?" His answer sounded more like a question than anything.

I pondered about the options I was given, not the one about going back to the guys' places, because, frankly, that was just weird, but Dougie's original suggestion, as well as the one Harry just gave me for a moment before saying, "Out of the two options I was given, I prefer Doug's, considering I've had a chance to know you lot. I mean, not the part about _accompanying me to my flat_, but to my building would be fine, I guess."

"Yes!" Dougie cheered, drawing out the 's' sound. "I win!" Again, he drew out a letter, this time it being the 'n'.

"Sure, Hon, you win," I replied, patting him on the head, messing his hair up even more than it already was, as I laughed at his reaction.

A few minutes later, we all piled into their van. It started moving and we joked around the entire drive. About twenty minutes later, the driver pulled onto the road on which the building my flat was on, and another five after that, he pulled to a stop near the front entrance to the building.

"Thanks for the ride. I'll talk to you again after I have the interview all written up, I guess," I said, reaching for the handle to get out.

"Wait!" Dougie cried, climbing between the seats, only stopping when he'd practically sat on my lap.

"What, Doug?" I asked, kind of scared.

"You didn't get your goodbye hug," he informed me.

"Oh," I replied just as he threw his arms around my midsection and held me tight.

"Doug," I breathed a few moments later.

"Yeah?" he asked, still holding me tight.

"Too. Tight. Can't. Breathe." I could feel my face turning blue from the red that I knew it was at that moment from lack of oxygen.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He dropped his arms from around me.

I took a few deep breaths, catching my breath again, before turning my attention back to the door and opening it, grabbing my things, and stepping out onto the pavement there.

"Well," I started, still trying to catch my breath, "Goodbye, now." I smiled at them before turning and walking into the building. Careful to be quiet, I walked up the noisy stairs and down the corridor to the flat I shared with Lauren.

Before slipping through the door, I glanced to my mobile, checking the time. _2.30_, it read.

"Hey," I smiled at Lauren, who was sat on the sofa, looking sleepy. "What are you still doing up?"

"I wanted to"—she paused to yawn—"ask you how"—another yawn—"it was," she explained.

"Oh, it was fun. The lads are awesome. But, Lauren, you look so beyond exhausted; you _need_ to get your sleep. We'll talk about it tomorrow at lunch—we're still going out, right?" I checked while kicking my shoes off and sitting down next to her on the sofa.

But I never heard her reply, as the moment after I spoke, we were both asleep on each other right where we remained.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>dakota by a rocket to the moon._

_**an: **this used to be two crap chapters, so I hope it was alright! :)__  
><em>


	12. Takeaway Secrets

**_disclaimer: _**_the lads own themselves._

* * *

><p><strong>TWELVE - TAKEAWAY SECRETS<strong>_  
><em>

_And the nights are so long without you  
>And the days speed up,<br>My god I just can't lose you now  
>But things are about to change<em>

As Lauren had predicted, I did sleep through my alarm. When I woke, I found myself in my bed, even though I recalled having last been in the living room, but didn't think much of it. When I got to work really late, I simply explained to my boss that I had been with the band late into the night, and she was fine with it.

The rest of the week, I worked on writing up the article and review that would be in the next issue of the magazine. When I arrived home from work on Friday evening, Lauren was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, getting ready for her date with her long-time boyfriend, Joshua. After a few mishaps – involving missing shoes and my having forgotten about the date – he arrived. When I came back from my room after a few minutes to find them still snogging in the slightly open door, I broke them up, reminding them that they were going to be late.

About an hour after Lauren and Josh had headed out, my stomach began to let me know that it was hungry. I had decided not to make any plans for the evening, which wasn't usual for me, but I didn't exactly feel like calling any of my mates and finding out what they were up to. Plus, I figured it was as good a time as any to catch up on some of the movies Lauren had told me about that she "highly recommended", but that I just hadn't had a chance to watch – I was either at work or out doing something for work, or was doing something with some of my mates – but had wanted to.

After throwing some of our communal laundry – being practically the same size as your roommate and best friend means that we can share a lot of our clothes, which also means we do a lot of each other's laundry – into a machine downstairs, I decided to put one of the movies from the stack Lauren had given me just that morning.

None of this was my usual Friday night, but like I've already mentioned, I didn't feel like calling any of my mates. And also, Lauren and I were rather in need of some clean clothing – I mean, I had had to dig around our flat in order to just find something clean to wear to work that morning.

Lauren was sometimes into the classic, blockbuster hits, but that wasn't what kind of movie the one I was currently watching. It was kind of weird, but that was what the kind of films Lauren adored. And while it was weird, I knew it would get better – all the movies Lauren recommended – especially highly – ended up being good.

When I was finished both the laundry and watching the film, I declared that Lauren had been right – yet again – and it had had been well worth the watch. It was an offbeat romantic story, and I had come to find myself rooting for the guy who had started out as the villain of the story – he had turned out to be the guy that the end hinted the girl would get together with after the credits rolled by the way they had become such close friends. I knew there were other films with similar ideas to their plots, but the way this one had been done made me like it over the others – that, and the actors were really good – if not pretty good looking… not to be superficial or anything.

After putting our now-clean clothing away, I opted for not going back into Lauren's and my disgusting, way-past expiration date refrigerator and pulled open the drawer we kept all the takeaway menus in. After finding a food style I felt like eating – Indian; I suddenly really wanted something spicy – and deciding what on the menu I wanted, I picked up the phone and placed an order.

I quickly changed into something a little less work-oriented and a little more casual before heading out to go pick up my order from the little takeaway shop a couple blocks away from the building.

I must have been lost in my thoughts as I made my way down the block, because the next thing I knew I had missed a call on my mobile. I checked to see if whoever had just called had left a voicemail message, and since they did, I quickly listened to it.

"Hey Darey," Robert's, the bloke I had been dating for the last couple months, voice came through the speaker, "sorry I keep missing you. It feels like all we do any more is play telephone tag, hey? Miss you, and I wish you were there now so I could properly hear your voice – not just by way of your voicemail message. I hate having to go out of town for work. I'll see you on Monday. Bye, love."

Robert might have been my sort-of-boyfriend for the last six weeks or so, but the fact that I hadn't actually talked to him in about five days and hadn't seen him in even longer didn't bother me in the slightest. When we had first started, I had loved seeing him a couple times a week – like a somewhat healthy relationship – but as the weeks wore on, I became more aware that we weren't exactly compatible with each other as much as either of us would have liked. Since I hadn't been all that interested in being in a relationship with him much longer, I planned on breaking it off with him the next time I saw him – if I _had _to be broken up with, I would rather he did it in person, so I preferred to break up with a guy in person, rather than over the phone.

As I walked into the Indian takeaway shop, my mobile was just about to go to voicemail when I realised it was vibrating in my hand. I quickly pressed the 'talk' button and pressed it to my ear. Before I even got a chance to say 'hello', the person was already speaking.

"Angelica, Angel-Baby, I had a lot of fun last night," the person on the other end began. There would have been more, but I cut him off.

"Robert? Is that you?" I quickly pulled the mobile away, checking the caller-ID. Sure enough, the screen read his name. That…that scum! "H-how could you?" As much as I tried otherwise, I couldn't fight the gasp that was escaping through my words. "You know what?" I said, trying again, this time confidence clear in every word, "Don't bother. We're finished, don't call me, don't come over, don't even look at me if you see me." Before he was able to say anything in response, I had already hung up on him.

Heading into the Indian takeaway place, I tried to steal myself against the tears that were threatening to come. I didn't really know why I was crying over it, but maybe it was because this hadn't been the first time a boyfriend – or sort of boyfriend – had cheated on me. And maybe it was just the prerogative of the matter at hand – when you break up with your boyfriend, you simply cry about it, especially when they've hurt you.

I managed to contain my tears until after I had my dinner and was headed out of the small shop. As I was about to push through the door, that all changed.

"Dara? Adara Palmer?" I heard the somewhat familiar voice from next to me just as the tears started to spill. Looking up at the owner of the voice revealed who I had thought it was: Tom Fletcher. "Are you alright, Dara?"

Dara was the name that Tom had decided to give me on the ride home on Wednesday night. No one had ever tried shortening my name that way, and I rather liked it – it kind of reminded me of a pretty flower. And I surely liked it a lot better than Darey, since that made me feel like products that came from a cow – you know… dairy?

I had looked away when he asked that question because, honestly, I didn't know. Sure, I had just found out that my boyfriend had been cheating on me for only who knows how long. But I had wanted to break it off with him anyways, so maybe it was all for the best. I wasn't sure.

Nonetheless, when I looked back up at him, all the emotions of the last ten minutes hit at a go, and he pulled me into his arms, rubbing calming patterns up my back. He only released me when I pulled away, apologising for my outburst.

I waited while he quickly collected what he had come for – his own dinner – and then he joined me on my walk down the block.

"So, what're your plans for this evening?"

"A boring evening in. My mate has insisted that I watch some of her favourite films, so I thought I'd work on the massive stack," I replied, smiling up at him as I thought about the fact that just a couple days earlier, he had explained – during the interview – some of his love of movies, both known and slightly obscure.

"Oh, that doesn't sound boring. Not at all," he replied, a small smile overtaking his face, showing off the dimple on his cheek. "I was just planning on going home and eating this in the dark."

"What?" I laughed. "Tell you what: I'll supply the entertainment. You supply the venue."

There was a brief pause. "I think I know just the place."

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_down down down by charlie simpson._

_**an: **:3  
>thanks.<em>


	13. Old Deserted Building

**_disclaimer:_**_ mcfly own themselves, sadly.__  
><em>

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><p><strong>THIRTEEN - OLD DESERTED BUILDING<strong>

_Don't know much about you  
>Don't know much about your world, but<br>Don't want to be alone tonight  
>On this planet they call Earth<em>

"Just wait here." Tom had been driving for about ten minutes when he suddenly pulled the car into the car park of a small supermarket. Pushing open the door, he added, "I'll be back in less than… four minutes."

I nodded after him, knowing he couldn't hear me now that his door was closed and he was already making his way into the store.

To be honest, this had been one of the weirdest nights I'd had in a long time. It had started off pretty simple and plain – a night in with takeaway and movies – but had quickly changed when I found out my boyfriend of the past six weeks had been cheating on me when I was out picking up my takeaway and I ran into the guy I had gotten used to acknowledging as Sunglass Boy, whose real name was Tom Fletcher.

After that, since he had claimed he was taking his dinner home to "eat it in the dark" – his words, not mine – I invited him to join me in watching the movies Lauren had put aside for me – as long as he got me away from my flat – there were many reminders of my cheating boyfriend that I would rather not have to be witness to.

Next I knew, I was flying back down the stairs with a small portion of the DVDs from the stack and out the door to where I had left Tom waiting before we hurried back up the block and to where his car was parked.

"Can we, you know, just not mention all that again?" I asked waving my hand in the direction of the nearby Indian takeaway place as he pulled away from the curb and into the light traffic. I knew he knew what I was talking about.

He made a zipping motion across his lips, twisting his fingers at the end. "My lips are sealed," he added, tossing what was supposed to be an imaginary key over his shoulder.

Following that, we fell into a silence while Tom navigated the car. But it wasn't uncomfortable. It was the kind that usually happened once you had already known someone for a while and had grown comfortable with just being near them – like the way Lauren and Josh were, the way Tom and I probably shouldn't have been quite so comfortable with after such a short time, but still were.

The car door opening brought me the six-minutes back to the present. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard as Tom slid into the seat, shoving the bags he held into the backseat.

"You're late," I told him while he slipped the key back into the ignition and started up the car.

After backing out of the space his car had been occupying, he stuck his tongue out at me, "So sue me."

"Where were you? What took you so long?" I asked, a hint of a smile on my face he was unable to see in the ever-darkening evening.

He pulled back out onto the road before taking a look at the time for himself. "You're grilling me over a _whole_ minute?" I looked over at him to faintly see his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his lips.

I put on a fake-evil laugh, tapping my fingertips together. "Aha, you're catching onto my devious plan!"

His quirked brow raised even further, a look of confusion tangling his facial features briefly before we both burst out laughing.

As we finished laughing a few seconds later, Tom was just pulling into another car park, this time to what looked like an old and deserted theatre. He parked the car in a spot near what looked like the main doors and turned off the engine.

When I didn't make any movement to move, Tom glanced over at me, giving me a questioning look.

"Y-you're not going to take me in there and murder me or anything, are you?" I asked. There was a hint of humour that I hoped was hiding the slight tremor that I could feel creeping into my words. I hadn't known Tom all that long, but I got the feeling he was not ill-intentioned. Before I knew what happening next, we were both laughing again.

"What do you expect me to think?" I replied as we climbed out of the car, bringing everything with us, as the laughter subsided. "It's dark, I just really met you a few days ago, and then you bring me to some seemingly deserted old building? Yeah, that's not creepy. Nope, not at all."

"Well I was under the impression you wanted a venue for all those movies," Tom replied, a serious look on his face as he took in the small – but still rather large – stack of DVD cases I carried, a hint of humour hidden deep within his words – one that I was still able to catch. After I shrugged and nodded in response, he added, "I called in a couple favours and got my hands on this old place. It was active in the late-1800s, and then after it closed down just after the turn of the century, it was converted into a silent movie theatre. And when that closed about a decade later, it just sat here. Until a few years ago, when a friend of a friend bought it, restored it to its original glory – with the added benefits of some modern advances – and here we are." He pulled out a key from his pocket and opened a door just off to the side of the main entrance, holding the door open for me when it opened.

"Whoa," I breathed once he had found the lights and was finally able to see the theatre we now stood in, taking in all its glorious beauty. It was almost like stepping back in time – except for the DVDs and the takeaway cartons I still held, of course. "This is incredible!"

"I thought you might like it," Tom replied from somewhere above me. I hadn't even been aware that he wasn't anywhere around me anymore until he spoke, inducing me to look up and see where he was stood on a balcony. "C'mon!" he added before turning around and pulling open one of the large doors that had been behind him, disappearing inside the room.

I had been just about to take an extra minute to look at the restored theatre when a chill ran down my spine. Hurrying up the staircase as quickly as I could with full arms, I followed after where Tom had just gone to, crashing into him as soon as the door was open – apparently, he had been just about to come and get me himself.

Tom picked the couple of movies that had fallen off the stack I was carrying up off the floor from when we crashed, taking the rest as well, before leading me to another, smaller room. He put the stack of movies on a ledge, and then turned to face me. The room looked like one you might see at a common-day movie theatre, except this one had a few differences – there was some of the equipment needed to run a show over one-hundred years ago, as well as there being some pretty new and fancy equipment, most of which I wouldn't have been able to name – except the DVD and Blu-ray players.

"Which one do you want to watch?" I asked Tom and he looked back at the movies. "Have you seen any of them? I haven't – that's why Lauren's making me watch them – not like it's such a big deal, she's good at picking movies," I added and then shut myself up, realising I had been rambling when Tom glanced back at me, a laugh on his face.

"How about this one?" he suggested, holding one of the cases up. When I just shrugged, he opened it and popped it into the DVD player next to him, and then pushed a couple of switches and a few lights came on in the main room, as well as the giant screen lighting up. A few seconds passed, and we could hear the sound come on as well. "Shall we?" He collected what he had brought, and we made our way – somewhat blindly as he had dimmed the lights a bit to enhance the watching experience – to seats in the middle of the large room.

We had just settled into the seats – which were surprisingly comfortable, and were probably pretty new and unused – Tom having just revealed his supermarket purchases of some snacks and drinks to make it even more like being in a proper movie theatre, when the menu screen of the DVD came up.

"Oh right!" Tom cried, jumping out of his seat. A moment later, the screen went dark, and a moment after that, Tom returned.

"This is really cool. I've never been in alone – well, you know – in a theatre before. Especially not one like this," I told him as the movie's opening credits began. I didn't know what it was, but even after everything that I had been through before Tom had come along earlier that evening, I couldn't help the smile that seemed to want to remain permanently on my face – and I didn't mind, not one bit.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>taking chances by celine dion_

_**an: **yay! tom and adara bonding! yay!  
>thanks for reading and for the reviews! :)<em>


	14. Ghosties in the Theatre

**_an:_**_ i had a lot of fun with this one, so i hope you like it. :) thanks for all your great reviews. happy happy._

**_disclaimer:_**_ mcfly have owned themselves since the beginning of time. or, well, er.._

* * *

><p><strong>FOURTEEN - GHOSTIES IN THE THEATRE<strong>

_It seems hard to swallow  
>You keep your thoughts by your pillow<br>Just so you can adore them  
>And just so we can ignore them<em>

I guess I must have fallen asleep at some point during one of the many movies we had been watching because the next thing I knew, Tom was gently nudging me in the shoulder while saying, "Dara, are you asleep?"

"That's kind of hard to do," I replied, but I kept my eyes shut. When he went to nudge me again – just because, I assumed – I grabbed his hand, even with my still shut eyes. "Would you stop it?" I kept my hold on his hand while I sat up properly in my theatre seat.

"You're no fun," he pouted, pulling his hand free of my grasp. "By the way, your phone's been going crazy for the past ten minutes or so."

"Oh," I said while reaching for the device that was resting on the seat between us that we had managed to rig so it would stay down so we would have a place to put some of the snacks, rather than just our laps or the floor – no matter how unused a theatre is, the floor is a terrible place for snacks! "What did I miss?" I added, rubbing my eyes of the sleep, talking about the movie.

"Oh, not much. This one ended in much the same way as the last. Girl gets boy. Except, the other one was murdered about twenty minutes to the end, so everything was kind of messy there for a bit before she realised he was murdered because he was a bad guy in a gang, and the first guy was the one in love."

"I guess Lo really likes her love stories. I guess I haven't watched a proper movie with her in a while to realise it. Or maybe she just had all the love stories together – that's what I'm hoping," I supposed, opening the messaging system on my phone, only to find about a bunch messages from none other than my best mate.

_Hey, just got home. You're not here, obvs. Where are you? Just wondering. _

_Pixie. A note would have been nice you know. We're starting to worry about you!_

_Pix – where are you. Josh and I are really worrying about where you've gotten to! xox_

_ADARE! YOU ANSWER ME THIS MINUTE. IF YOU DON'T IN THE NEXT 10 MINS, I'M CALLING THE COPS!_

_ADARA PALMER, YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLAINATION AS TO WHY I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YOU. LIKE YOU FELL OFF THE EDGE OF THE PLANET._

They all came at various intervals, all mixed in with some missed phone calls from her mobile, Josh's mobile, and our landline. I noticed that I was running out of time before she called the police on me, so I quickly pushed out a reply:

_SORRY DIXIE! I fell asleep. I'm with a mate, don't worry your pretty little butt about me, I'm perfectly fine – don't call the cops, okay? Hope your date's going well! Love you! _

Looking back up from my phone, Tom was watching a little bit at the end of the credits. "You know," I said when it finished as I felt another chill run down my spine, "this place is giving me the creeps. I think there may be a ghost running around here. I mean, someone _has_ to have died in here at some point! It's so old that it's not possible that _no_ one's died here."

Tom just looked at me, a confused look on his face before he started laughing. "Have you been watching and or reading up on too many ghost stories? Or are you always like this?"

I thought about that. "Maybe a little of both?" I admitted. "But, seriously. How old is this place again? Like almost 125 years? C'mon! Someone's had to have died here in that time! I'm sure of it. And there's bound to be someone haunting this place – I mean, it's pretty big!" I was serious, and as soon as Tom took one look at me, he stopped laughing, finally giving me the benefit of the doubt.

Pocketing my phone, I dragged Tom out of the theatre room, down the stairs, and into the main lobby area. "Where should we start our search?" I smiled.

"How about through there?" Tom suggested, and we headed for the door across the lobby.

Pulling open the heavy door revealed a smaller theatre, this one still equipped with a rather old looking stage. Venturing in, we spent the next half hour wandering around the room, pulling open doors that if you didn't know were there, you wouldn't have seen and looking into any and every room we could.

"Well, that was exciting," Tom sighed as we walked out through what we had originally thought was the door we had entered the room in. Except, it wasn't. "Where are we?" He turned around, trying to get back to the door, just as it was swinging shut. Trying to push it back open proved useless.

"See? Ghosts!" I gasped, excitement – as well as a bit of fear – taking over every bit of me. "It's supernaturally locked!"

"Dara. The door closed because it's heavy. And it won't open not because of supernatural forces" – I could feel my face dropping a little at his words, so honest and clear – "but because it's locked from the other side."

"Oh. Right. I knew that." I guess I had just been a little more excited by the prospect of having actually encountered a ghost – not that I had a fascination with them or anything, I just thought it might have been cool. But with how Tom had just explained it, it all made sense. The door _was_ pretty heavy. And a lot of the doors _had_ been locked when we had tried to open them.

Tom pulled out his mobile. "No signal," he mumbled, and then pushed a button, and the dark room was awash with the bright light. After taking a quick spin around the small room, he turned back to me. "There's no other door." I hadn't realised he'd been looking for another door, but it made sense to look. He then tried the door again, without any more success than the first time – none.

"There is, however," Tom paused, looking pointedly at me, "an air duct."

"Where?" I looked around the room in search of this 'air duct', whatever _that_ was – I'm kidding, I know what an air duct is… kind of.

Chuckling, he tilted my head up and shown the light up at the ceiling.

All I could do was gulp. I might not have been afraid of heights, but knowing it might be our only way out, since no one really knew where we were, and because of where it was, I knew it would be up to me to get us out of the room. It was, after all, mostly my fault we were even stuck.

"Give me a sec," I sighed. Preparing myself to get ready to go into the air duct, I took a few deep breaths – I wasn't afraid of small spaces, either, but it was the prerogative of that matter, too. "Okay, get me up there."

Next I knew, I was sitting on Tom shoulders. And when I still couldn't reach the air duct, I carefully – with Tom's help, of course – maneuvered so I was standing instead. Finally, I was able to reach, but just barely. I got the grate open so I could crawl inside, and a few minutes later, I was lying on my stomach, panting after all the exertion I had just used, taking a quick break.

When I was good to go, I pulled out my phone, turned on the light, and started creeping through the smallish duct I was now in. About eight minutes – according to my mobile in front of me – I came to the end. The getting up had been one thing, but now seeing the end, I was even more freaked out before having come up. I had forgotten about getting back out once I was up – I was pretty high up, so the drop would be far.

"Everything alright?" I could hear Tom calling to me.

"Yep," I called back shortly, my panic clear even in my own ears. "Finally got to the end. Tom? It's _far_!"

There was a moment's silence before I heard him again. "C'mon, Dara, it's the only way. If you come back, we'll just be stuck in here all over again. I know you can do it!"

Hearing his words brought a new strength, straining out some of the panic.

"You can do it! I know you can!" he added, and I maneuverer around in the duct so now my feet were in front of me, kicking open the grate. I heard it bang accusingly against the wall behind it, and then I started inching towards the opening, slipping my phone back into my pocket. I was still able to hear Tom's encouraging chant as I took a deep breath, and slipped out of the air duct.

"Aaahhh – ooww!" I gasped upon my landing. I had landed on my feet – I knew that was a complete no-no in falling having taken quite a few spills over the years – and it hadn't been pleasant, before quickly falling over, coming to rest on my side. I remained there for a minute.

"Adara?" Suddenly, Tom's faint voice could be heard coming from the air duct far above me.

Pulling together what little strength I had left after having crawled through the duct and having taken the fall from it, I stood – only to crumble on the floor again, my ankle protesting in pain. Stealing myself against any more pain, I made my way on hands and knees – or, I should say _knee_, as in only one, since I ended up kind of dragging the leg of my injured ankle – to where the lookalike door stood. Reaching up, I pushed the lever and the door opened.

I heard Tom's relieved sigh, and then he turned on me. "Dara? Are you alright?"

"High fall. _Hard _fall. Land on feet," I said in the best _George of the Jungle_ impression I could manage at the moment, producing a small round of giggles.

"Let's get you out of here." Without another word, he had me up and in his arms. While I worked through the pain running through my ankle and up my leg at the sudden movement, he worked on finding the correct door.

When he reached the other side of the room, he carefully pushed through the door, checking to make sure we were in the right place this time, before walking the rest of the way out into the lobby. "I'm just going to go grab our things and shut off the lights and all that and I'll be back in a minute," Tom explained as he sat me down on a random sofa in the large room, and then rushed up the stairs.

I wasn't sure if I liked being alone in such a big place, but seeing as I wasn't in any condition to move by myself and Tom was nowhere around at the moment and no one else was here, I was stuck. And I was going to have to deal with the fact that I still thought there was at least _one_ ghost in the building – even if I hadn't actually seen any – on my own.

Yet another chill was running down my spine when Tom came running back down the stairs. Just as he was approaching me though, the lights blinked off.

"See! I told you there was a ghost!"

"Dara, there's bound to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this," he retorted, "like a blown fuse."

"I honestly cannot believe that you don't think there's a ghost in here, let alone more than just one," I said as he navigated through the dark and out the door. "What with where you lot got your name from and the fact that you mentioned one of your favourite movies of all time is 'Ghostbusters', it's highly unbelievable."

"Oh, no, it's not that," Tom explained placing me in the car. When he returned from making sure the main lights were turned off and the door locked, he continued, "It's just we've spent lots of nights in here, looking for the no-show ghosts." He smiled. "I was just humouring you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>hard to swallow by you me at six_

**_an:_**_ there you have it. ;)_


	15. And Then Later

**_disclaimer: _**_i don't own the guys, no matter how hard i try. i own adara, though._

* * *

><p><strong>FIFTEEN - AND THEN LATER...<strong>

_I'm lost at sea  
>The radio is jamming but they won't find me<br>I swear it's for the best  
>And then your frequency is pulling me in closer<em>

"Have you ever realised how many whiskers cats have?" I asked as one of Tom's cats wondered by the sofa I was perched on.

Tom laughed. "I've noticed it's a lot. Oh, no, don't do that! She'll hate you!" Tom added as I went to pick up the cat to count the whiskers sticking out of her muzzle.

Quickly letting go of the cat, she dropped a very short fall and then dashed off. After a brief disappointment at not being able to count her whiskers, I turned my attention to the kettle Tom was using to boil water.

"That's a lot of steam! Wow, that's like a whole other cup of tea! We should catch it and save all the water!" I watched as the water vapour escaped from the kettle just before the device announced to Tom that the water was ready. "Ack, why is that so loud? Make it stoooop!"

With a quiet laugh - one I barely noticed - he quickly made the whistling stop and poured the water into a couple of ready mugs he had already prepared on the counter.

"Dara, if I give you this, will you promise to drink it slowly?" Tom asked as he now stood in front of me, two mugs in his hands.

"What?" I turned my attention to him. "What is it?" I tried racking my brain for what could be in the cup, but came up blank.

"Hot chocolate. You asked for it a few minutes ago...?" he answered slowly, a hint of humour on his face.

"Oh, um, okay. Wait - what was the question?" My brain wasn't working so well right now - not that it was very good most of the time, but really.

"Will you drink it slowly? It's very hot and I don't want you to burn your mouth or your throat," Tom explained. When I nodded, he slipped one if the mugs into my grasp, and then took a cautious sip from his own mug.

"Oi, that's hot!" I screeched.

If it hasn't been for Tom still standing there, I would have been soaked in the hot brown liquid as the mug slipped from my grasp at my outburst and he caught it just in the nick of time, making it so the liquid remained completely in the cup.

"What did I just finish saying?" Tom smirked, placing my mug on the table next to the sofa.

"I just wanted a sip..." I mumbled. "Ooh! Lookit all the pretty colours!" I cheered, pointing a finger to where a show on the TV had turned into a spiral of colours.

Tom briefly glanced at it before turning back around. "How's your ankle?"

"What ankle?" I honestly wasn't sure what he was going on about.

"Your injured ankle?" he prompted while moving to another sofa, sitting down.

"Oh, yes, right. I knew that," I mumbled, looking down to find a pack of ice on one of my ankle, drawing me to the fact that, while it _did_ hurt a bit, it was mostly cold. "Meh, I've had worse," I answered him truthfully.

He gave me a questioning glance, but didn't really say anything more. We watched whatever show was on the telly, with me making comments every minute or so, Tom commenting back on my comments, until it ended. By that point, we were both out of whatever it was that was in the mugs - I couldn't remember any more, but after it cooled a bit, it sure tasted good - and my head was feeling kind if heavy.

"You should try to sleep some of those painkillers off," Tom told me while draping me with a blanket. Next I knew, we were dancing around, off to find the end if the rainbow.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until the sun was shining in my eyes the following morning and I tried rolling over to keep it away from my face, but fell on the floor with a loud thud that I woke up. I realised then as I moved into an extremely awkward sitting position – both my feet were still up where I'd just been – that I had been sleeping on a sofa.<p>

Looking around the room, I couldn't remember where I was. Then, as I locked onto the eyes of the other person in the room, looking as if they had just woken also, who seemed to be holding back a small laugh, it all came back to me. I was at Tom's.

"So what," I said, still looking into his eyes, "I fell off the sofa." I lifted myself back onto the sofa behind me, returning to where I had been comfortable just moments before I ended up on the floor. "I forgot where I was and was trying to get the sun out of my eyes," I added, turning a bit so the sun was no longer directly in my eyes.

"Sure you did," Tom said, getting to his feet slowly.

"I did!" I insisted as he moved so he was standing over me, block the sun.

"How's you ankle this morning?" he laughed as I looked up at him.

I hadn't really been thinking about, but Tom mentioning brought me back to the dull pain that was pounding at the end of my leg – I assumed the fact that it wasn't more painful that it was was because of the painkillers I had most likely taken the night before that were still working their way out of my system. "It's okay, not bad right now," I told him. "My head on the other hand…. What happened last night?"

"Well," he said, moving away from where I was sprawled, "let's find out what you remember first." As he spoke, he went into the kitchen.

I told him about the theatre, how we got trapped and I had taken a fall, twisting my ankle. He had taken me to the drugstore on the way home after I told him I was certain it was just bruised – I'd had enough sprains and other injuries to know pretty well when I had one or not – and then came back to his house. After that, everything was really fuzzy.

He laughed returning to the living room, bring with a tray, which carried everything for cereal, juice and coffee, and two of everything at that.

"You got pretty high on those painkillers," Tom said simply. "Very loopy."

"Oh gosh. I _did_ try warning you about the extra-strength," I reminded. After he shrugged and nodded, I went on, "What did I do?"

"You told me about the coloured dots you were seeing," he began, speaking slowly so I would have a hard time missing anything he said, handing me a cup of coffee. "You tried to count Leia's whiskers. You called Danny and Dougie – I have no clue what you talked to them about, but I managed to stop you before you could call Harry, too. And then, to top it off, when the dogs started barking a couple houses down, you wanted to go outside and 'howl at the moon'" – he used air-quotes – "with them. All after about three A.M."

He was laughing while I cringed, my head in my hands. "Oh gosh. I can't believe it – but I still do. This happens every time I take painkillers. And I'm usually only on regular strength." I took a sip of the coffee. "Don't tell Lauren, okay? She'll only make fun of me."

Laughing and agreeing, he added that he would drive me home after breakfast so I could sleep the rest of the painkillers off. I didn't know what it was exactly, but after everything that had happened over the last eighteen hours, I was really starting to get a soft spot for Tom.

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_watch the sky by something corporate._

**_an: _**_i'm going to try my hardest to get as many (as many as three more?) up by saturday evening, as i probably won't have much (or any) internet until march, as i will be travelling back to uni for a couple weeks. just a little fyi._

_thanks for reading, reviewing, etc, and thanks in advance! much love! :3 xxx_


	16. Lauren's Love Life

_**an:** thanks. this one is filler, but it's a bit essential for a future chapter, so I guess it'll do. not my best work, but whatevs.  
>but... it is a good(ish) one for today. Happy Valentine's Day. :P <em>

**_disclaimer: _**_the lads are not owned by me, sadly, but by themselves._

* * *

><p><strong>SIXTEEN - LAUREN'S LOVE LIFE<strong>

_Promises break and lovers will lie  
>You hold up your hands and let out a sigh<br>So smile right before you fall  
>And lay beside this mess and call it consequence<em>

It had been about a month since I had run into Tom and we went to the old theatre only to end up with a bruised ankle and hopped up on extra-strength painkillers, I had found out my now ex-boyfriend Robert had been cheating on me and had broken it off with him, and Lauren had taken me out to get our nails done – her treat – just because. I had finished writing up the interview the following week, having had so much information I couldn't use it all. The magazine went out at the end of the month, my ankle healed quickly enough – I was only hobbling around a little more than a week – most of my nails had chipped by the following weekend, I was fine with what had happened between Robert and me, and I was able to think about him without freaking out – after a few days of wallowing while watching movies and eating ice cream with Lauren.

Tom and I had got together a few times, what with our busy schedules, and talked every day, it seemed. We didn't actually talk _every_ day, but, as we did talk a lot, it was almost like we did.

Lauren had been spending a lot of extra time with Josh, so, whenever she wasn't at the studio or with me, I could assume that she was with him. I didn't know why they were spending so much extra time together, but I got suspicious one afternoon when she walked in, cheeks rosy, her hands in her pockets – something she rarely did.

I didn't say anything, figuring if she was hiding something from me, she'd tell me soon enough.

She flopped down on the sofa next to where I was sat. "I have something to tell you," she announced, smiling brightly.

I turned off the television and put my laptop on the coffee table in front of the sofa, giving her my full attention. "Okay, what?" I asked.

"Well," she began, pausing for emphasis, still smiling at me brightly, "Josh asked me to marry him. And I said yes!"

My jaw dropped. "Wow!" I threw my arms around her, holding her so tightly that we could barely breathe – in other words, I was giving her a Dougie, as I had decided to call them. "Congratulations! We have to celebrate!"

"When? Right now?"

I thought about it for a split second, and then said, "Ooh! We'll call in sick tomorrow and have a girls' day!"

"Ooh! Okay!"

"So, do you have any ideas as to when you want to get married?" I asked her then, standing and heading for the kitchen to find something to drink.

"Oh, yes! Josh and I talked all night after he proposed, and we decided we want to have it next-next Saturday."

"Oh, really? So soon? Is there any reason for it then?"

"Nope, none, nadda," she replied, looking at me over the back of the sofa. "I don't want a big wedding – you know that."

I did know that. That was the main area where we differed: she wanted a small wedding with only close family and friends, and I wanted a big wedding with almost everyone I knew. Technically, we wanted what our parents didn't have. Her parents had a big, white wedding, and my mum didn't have a wedding; but if she did, she would have eloped, as neither her parents nor my father's agreed with their relationship.

Since Lauren was in love, and she wanted to have her parents at her wedding, she decided it'd be best for a small wedding, rather than eloping.

And I knew that, even if she wasn't planning on having anything big, it would still be an amazing party.

"There's really no reason for the rush? I mean, just last month you were telling me how you didn't know if you were ready to get married."

"I know. I—I'm just ready. And I know I'm ready. And I love Josh, and I want to marry him—now, not next year."

Her eyes got a little watery as she told me this. I pulled her in for a hug.

"Oh, Lauren, I love you. And I'm going to miss you when you get married."

"I love you, too, Adara. And I, too, will miss you."

"Okay, so, when did he propose?"

"Last night. You know how we went out to dinner?"

I nodded having just taken a sip of the juice I had poured myself.

"Well, after, he took me back to his place, like we usually do, and he asked if I would like some fruit. And you know me and fruit! So, as we ate the fruit, just talking and looking at each other, I found this ring," she said, pausing to show me the ring she now wore on her left hand, "at the bottom. I said yes so fast he didn't even have time to finish asking the question."

"That's my girl!" I put down my juice cup and replaced it with Lo's hand, getting an even better look at the ring. "And that ring is absolutely gorgeous!" I dropped her hand back down, taking my cup back up, sipping from it as I went back into the kitchen, finding out the time.

It was five on a Sunday evening, too late to go out to look at dresses or any other wedding stuff, like my first thought was, so I moved onto the second.

"Say, let's go through our wedding books from when we were younger!" I suggested, popping out of the kitchen once again.

"Ooh, okay! Oh, you know, I should call my parents."

While I went in search of our books that we worked on until just a few years earlier, Lauren went and called her parents, letting them know that she was getting married.

I found them in a box at the back of the linen closet, having had nowhere else to put them when we first moved in months ago. When I returned to the lounge, she was still on the phone, though it sounded as though she wasn't talking to her parents anymore.

As soon as she saw me, she told the person on the other end she had to go, and hung up, smiling.

"Who was that?"

"My brother," she answered, shrugging.

I thought he still lived with their parents, but I could never be sure, as it didn't really matter. "Oh, cool. Look what I found!"

"Yay!" she squealed, taking hers from my hand. We spread them on the coffee table, going through them together, slowly.

For the rest of the evening, we started working on details of the wedding, writing down things that would need to be done this week, things that could wait until the following week. Most of the things we had decided that we would do the following day while we were out, including looking for her dress.

Just before we went to bed, she told me that I was going to be her maid of honour and that I had no choice on the matter. Not like I wouldn't have been if she had asked me.

"Lo, what am I going to do with you?"

"Love me forever?"

Laughing, I said, as my way of goodnight, while wrapping my arms around her and pulling her in for a hug, "You're going to make a beautiful bride and a wonderful wife, Dixie."

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_bigger than love by my favorite highway._


	17. Demands

_**an: **i'm stuck in an airport for the next few hours, so i'm going to give you the update i forgot to put up last night. thanks for your reviews. :)  
><em>

_**disclaimer: **mcfly own their own minds and bodies, i do not._

* * *

><p><strong>SEVENTEEN - DEMANDS<strong>

_The glow in the dark stars on your ceiling  
>Will shine for us<br>As love sweeps over the room  
>Cause we tend to make<br>Each other blush_

"You need a date for my wedding," Lauren informed me one morning a little more than a week later as we were getting ready. "Fred" – her brother – "just called and said he was bringing his latest girlfriend. So, that means that besides Josh's three-year-old nephew, you're going to be the only one there alone. And I can't have that happening."

I had been startled by her words at first. As they sank in, I just let her finish, knowing that now that she had made up her mind about it, I had no other choice than to find someone to bring as my date.

"Yeah, sure, I can see about that," I told her, a note of humour in my voice, knowing that by saying those words, I would drive her crazy.

"You've got to do better than that! You have to actually bring someone!"

"Relax, Dixie. I'll figure something out. And if it comes down to it, I'll draw a face on a melon and take a scarecrow as my date," I told her, looking as though I was completely serious.

The expression on her face when I had finished speaking was more than priceless and had me laughing so hard my sides began to hurt.

"You're kidding right?" she asked after me as I headed back into my room. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Relax, Lauren. I'm completely kidding." I returned to where she was still standing just outside the bathroom. "But in all seriousness, I'll figure something out."

"Ooh! You're going out with Doug this afternoon!" she reminded me, seeming to suddenly remember it was Wednesday. "Maybe you could bring him!"

I just smiled at her as I headed to the kitchen, putting away the mug she had given me as a reward for waking up twenty minutes earlier. "I should be going. I have some important people to meet with in a bit. But I'll see you later?"

"Yeah. Josh said he'd be here by about one, so make sure you're back in plenty of time so he doesn't have to wait – you know how much he _hates_ being late for lunch with his parents – and that's around one-thirty."

It had been discovered a few weeks ago that Tom and the guys lived about five minutes from Josh's parents, so whenever we were all headed in the same direction, they would give me a ride – as neither Lauren nor I had a car and it was a lot quicker and easier than taking public transportation or having them come all the way over to mine – a whole _ten minute_ drive in the worst of London traffic – just so we could go back over near to where they lived. Which was what was planned for that afternoon – Dougie had declared he needed my assistance with something, not really elaborating on that _what_, and since Lauren and Josh were going to lunch at her soon-to-be in-law's, the happy couple was dropping me off on the way.

"Okay, I'll be here before then. Bye!" I rushed out the door and was gone before she was able to say another word.

* * *

><p>"Josh? Instead of taking the next left," I began as I ended the call I had been making, "can you make a right?"<p>

Lauren turned around in her seat to look at me in the back, a smile lightening up her face. "What, have you already forgotten where you're going?"

"Oh, no, it's not that. Since Doug's running late, and we're running early, I thought I'd drop by Tom's and say 'hi' for a moment – I haven't seen him in a while."

"Right," she said, drawing out the vowel, as Josh made the requested turn. "That's the only reason."

I didn't know what she meant by that, but instead of mentioning it, I directed Josh to the correct house. When he pulled to a stop outside, I grabbed my handbag and jumped out.

"Hey! Don't forget what I said this morning, Pixie!" Lauren called from her now-open window.

I turned back, smiling at her. "I won't, I promise. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She blushed slightly – she was spending her last night as a single girl at Josh's before they got married on the weekend – nodding. "Bye, love you, Pixie."

"Love you, too, Dixie! See you, Joshua!" I said, standing up from where I had been bent so I could see them properly, and then heading up the steps to the door. Behind me, I heard the car pull away from the curb as they drove off.

"Hello? Tom? Anyone here?" I said as I pushed open the front door. I had been over so many times in the past few weeks that I had gotten comfortable just walking into his house – I'm sure he would have done the same for mine, had he been able to, what with the always-locked door leading into my building.

"Dara? Did I know you were coming?" Tom called from one of the rooms on the main level. I followed his voice until I found him in the kitchen with Danny. "We were just about to head out."

"No, I was just headed over to Dougie's. But he's running late, so I thought I'd come say hi," I explained as I joined them at the table. Putting on a somewhat fake and extremely large smile, I added, "Hey guys! Great to see you again – it's been so long!"

Danny looked a little weirded out. "Hey Dare," he began slowly. "We just saw you yesterday. Don't you remember?"

All I could do was laugh, shaking my head. "Of course I remember, silly! How could I forget a pretty face like yours?" I turned to Tom. "Can I ask you something somewhat important?"

He turned his attention away from what he was doing, giving me his full concentration, a curious look replacing the highly amused one.

"And I really don't care what your answer is," I added.

"Then I really don't care what your question is," he replied, turning away again. After a moment, he turned back, giving me the same look. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Well," I started, dragging out the letters, "Lauren's getting married this weekend – I think I mentioned it?" After he nodded, I continued, "She decided this morning that I need a date for the small function, otherwise I'll be the only one going solo, and apparently we can't have that. So" – I dragged it out as well – "I was wondering if you would come as my plus one."

There was a brief pause once I finished speaking, and then: "Of course he will!" Danny stated.

We both looked at him. "Saturday, right?" I nodded, and he went on, "Sure, why not."

I jumped up, leaning across the table and giving him an awkward hug – I mean, how could it not with a table between us? – "Thank you, you're helping me make a very happy Lauren."

"Awe, get a room you two," Danny told us.

After a bit of a weird look shot at Danny as I sat back down in my chair, Tom said, "This is _my_ house, Danny."

He just smiled stupidly at us as my mobile vibrated in my pocket.

"Oh, well, you weirdoes have _fun_," I told them jumping out of my seat after having read the message. Snickering, I added, "I've got a date with the devil. Bye!"

The looks on their faces as I rushed out of Tom's kitchen were hilarious – Danny's: stunned confusion; Tom's: surprised contemplation.

* * *

><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_the bird and the worm by owl city_

**_an:_**_ this will probably be the last one for the month. i'm hoping that i'll be able to get something to you in early March, as i won't have internet for the next two weeks. sorry about this. thanks for all your support with this! it means so much! :)_


	18. It's A Laugh

_**an:** so very sorry it's taken me so long to get this up. I've been meaning to, I just kept getting distracted. dang uni! haha, but here you are, hope you like it!_

**_disclaimer:_**_ I don't own Dougie but I own Adara._

* * *

><p><strong>EIGHTEEN - IT'S A LAUGH<strong>

_I've got a way of counting cars  
>You've got a way of breaking hearts<br>I've got the keys to a real fast car  
>And you're a real fast girl<em>

"Uh-oh," Dougie said as smoke started coming from the front of the car, the sounds that had preceded it growing in decibel, as he pulled the car to the side of the deserted road. "I think she's broke."

I had spent most of my afternoon with Dougie. After we had found out the place we had planned on going to was closed for some mysterious reason, we opted to driving to a similar place just outside of the city – about a forty-five minute drive, to be exact.

Dougie had enlisted my help a few days earlier – for what, I still wasn't quite sure, but apparently my input on something had helped as he walked out of a store a few minutes after I had, informing me that he figured it out – he didn't elaborate as to what _it _was though – not even when I asked.

But before he figured it all out, we had had quite the adventure. I had managed to unknowingly drop my phone under the car while we got back in after stopping at the first promenade and when Dougie started to pull the car out of its space, we heard a crunching sound. Investigation of the sound found my completely destroyed phone, sitting in a puddle, where the car had been sat just moments before.

Then, later, at the second promenade, while walking by a guy on stilts who was switching back and forth every few minutes between juggling fire and juggling sharp knives, Dougie stopped to look at something on the ground, and since I wasn't paying attention to what he was doing instead to the guy we were walking by, I tripped over him, almost causing the guy juggling the huge knives to trip as well, as we were _that_ close. The juggler did, however, drop one of the knives – less than a foot in front of where I was splayed on the group.

Apologising profusely – all three of us – Dougie threw me over his shoulder and dashed off, only putting me down when he thought we were a safe distance from the juggler and safely hidden away at the back of a small used bookshop.

It was in that bookshop that our first purchases of the day were made. Dougie declared that we should pick out a book for the other. Agreeing immediately, we spread out, looking at all the random titles available to choose from, planning on meeting out front the store in twenty minutes with our book choice purchased for the other.

This was how I found myself looking through all the books, some of which I had never heard of before, others common day, and a select few that I hadn't see since my childhood. Twenty minutes later, books purchased, we traded paper bags.

After having peeked inside his bag, Dougie laughed, "_Latin for All Occasions_'," he read off the front of the book, and then opened it to a page at random: "'Amo vi-um.'"

It sounded more like gibberish to me than another language, but I let him have it, as the only Latin I had ever heard was in movies. "And what does it mean?"

"I love sex." His face was so serious that I was almost on the ground in a fit of laughter.

"Of course it says that!" When we – my laughing had apparently started him up, too – calmed back down, I check out my book. "'_The Big Coloring Book of_' – '" I pulled it out enough to see the title and front image before promptly letting it fall back into its hiding place in the opaque paper bag, cutting myself off in the process. "That's crude," I laughed. "They seriously have a colouring book for _that_?"

The smile he gave me while he nodded happily was slightly smug.

After that, we found ourselves in what I can only imagine was the largest toy store ever to have existed. They had this area of teddies and other animals where you could figure out which type of stuffed animal you wanted by cuddling up with one of the samples in a large and cozy bedroom-like setting – minus the bed, of course. Upon seeing it from across the store, Dougie had dragged me over – not like it was such as struggle; as soon as I saw where he was taking me, I was probably pulling him more than he was me.

"You know what I just realised?" he said as we were relaxing with a bunch of zoo animals a while later.

"That you're really a seven-year-old girl?" I teased. When he tossed a zebra at my head, I added, "No, what?"

"That your name rhymes with 'bear'." It was a simple statement, but it had me in a fit of laugher once again that would have surely had me on the floor had I not already been lying down.

After finding composure, I replied, "Yes. Yes it does. Whatever brought this up?"

He reached over, pulling an animal back with him so I could see it. "This bear. And," he added with great enthusiasm, "your name is spelt like 'naked'. But with a 'd'."

I was beyond confused now. "What?" I asked, voicing this confusion, while launching a monkey at him.

"You know," he started as if it was plain as day, "B – A – R – E, bare… naked! D – A – R – E, Dare… you!" He seemed so proud of his realisation.

"You," I rebutted, this time launching a giraffe at him, "are one messed up and cheeky monkey."

"That's it!" he cried, jumping up. "This means war!" With that, he tossed the bear at me and rushed off, looking for cover and more toys.

Within minutes, we had thrown almost every animal that was in a five foot radius of where we were hiding from the other, and had thrown a good deal of the ones that weren't within reach anymore, as well.

After a few more minutes, our stuffed animal war was put to an end when we were thrown out of the store for having scared a couple little kids. I felt kind of bad for scaring them, but we were laughing too hard as we left to do anything about it really.

It was shortly after that when Dougie 'figured it out'. We were in a home furnishings store, talking about what we were looking at on the shelf when a look briefly crossed Dougie's face. We continued looking around the store for a while longer, but after having already been looking for about ten minutes, I told Dougie that I was going to go wait outside the store for him.

When he found me another almost ten minutes later, he made an announcement: "I've figured it out! Thank you, Dare Bear!" Before I could make a comment as to what he had just called me, he was wrapping me in one of his usual lung-crushing hugs.

"Okay?" I asked catching my breath after having been released, completely baffled and not knowing what I had done to help him. "You're welcome? Now what did I do, Cheeky Monkey?" I figured if he was giving me a weird nickname, I would give him one as well.

He just smiled at that, sniggering. "Oh, you just helped me figure out what I was looking for. I had to order it, since they didn't have exactly what I wanted. You'll see in a few weeks."

I nodded, still confused. Linking his arm around my back, he started pulling me along, "Let's skedaddle, shall we?"

Twenty-five minutes later, as we sped down the road, some sounds forced us to turn down the music we'd been blasting and sing along to. It wasn't much at first, just some sounds we were somewhat aware of. Continuing on, however, only caused the sounds to become louder until, before long, the car was smoking and sounded as if it was going to just quit on us while we still moving.

Dougie had been lucky enough to get the car off the road before it completely died. He looked over at me as we now sat on the side of the road. "You don't happen to know anything about cars, do you?" He looked hopeful and like he already knew the answer was no; it was so sad and endearing.

Shaking my head, I replied, "Just that they're not supposed to be making weird sounds and smoking like a chimney."

Sighing, he pulled a lever to pop open the bonnet, made sure there was no traffic – not that we'd seen _any_ the whole time we'd been driving the road – and climbed out of the car.

I reached for his mobile, which we had just put on to charge as we left the promenade before quickly following him to the front just as he pushed the bonnet up, sending even more smoke than had already escaped – which was _a lot_ – into his face.

Glancing down at his phone, I realised that the car must have been having troubles we didn't realise, as his phone, once having held a small charge, was now completely dead.

"Looks like we won't be phoning anyone for help," I informed him sadly, pulling him away from the car to give it time to cool.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>love like this _by _the summer set_

**_an: _**_thanks for reading! :) I'm still working on the next one, and it may be a while, as I have a lot of essays due this week (three!) and I'll be travelling for about two weeks right after that. I will try to work on it, but I don't know if I'll get it up until the end of April. Sorry in advance! Thanks for sticking around while my head goes crazy and forgetful on me! xxxx_


	19. Telephone Booths

_**an:** this has been sitting almost finished for over a year now - to anyone who's still reading this: I'm very sorry it's taken so long to post this! I'm going to try to finish writing this before school starts up in a couple weeks, I personally really like these characters._

_**disclaimer: **I don't know the boys. I don't own the songs._

* * *

><p><em>Oh, what a lousy excuse for a car<em>

_One mile to go, but I can't push it that far_

_I think I've had enough_

_I think I'm giving up_

An hour and a half later found Dougie and me huddled together in what had to be the tiniest – and oldest – pay-telephone booth in existence. We had been walking down the seemingly deserted road on what had been an amazingly warm and sunny day after his car had broken down on our way back to the city after spending most of the afternoon at an outdoor shopping centre a little less than an hour outside of London. As we had been walking, though, the weather had quickly changed for the worst – what had been an almost windless day was gradually replaced with a day with a wind so strong and forceful we were clinging onto each other, pulling the other along so we could keep going forwards and – simply – to remain on our feet. The sky had also darkened greatly in that it almost felt like it was nine pm, rather than the four in the afternoon that it was – and being the middle of spring, the sun was supposed to be in the sky longer into the evening.

It had been raining – pouring, pounding down on us so much and so hard that I thought we might have been walking – stumbling – through a hailstorm, but it was just raining so hard and the rain was quite heavy, seemingly – for about five minutes when we were able to make out the shape of the phone booth in the distance. By that point, we were already soaked through. Another five minutes of stumbling later, and we were wedged in the tiny shelter, squished together and shivering.

"You don't happen to have any change in that bag of yours, do you?" Dougie asked a moment later through clattering teeth.

After getting it so I could get into my bag – not only had been stuck with water to my side, it had also been stuck between our closely pressing bodies – I wriggled around inside. "How's this?" I replied, pulling a small handful of coins from the bottom of my slightly messy bag.

"Alright! Now… who should we call?" He pondered over his question briefly before reaching around my short figure, picking up the receiver, dropping a couple of the coins from my hand into the slot to pay for the call and punched in a number. "Good thing you're short or that might not have worked out so well." There was a pause – in which I looked incredulously up at him smiling wickedly down at me – and then he was speaking to whomever was on the other end. "Hey mate. … What? No, it's Dougie? … Dude, seriously? You're going to do this _now_? When I can just barely hear you? Oi! … No, no, listen, my car broke down a while ago and we've – … What? …. Me and Dare, we've been walking for a long time in this storm – and not a single person has come by since we've been stranded. … What? … Oh, umm, like almost two hours? Maybe a bit less. But we're cold and tired either way. … Our phones aren't working, or else we _would _have. … Huh? … It just died, dude. You can ask Dare what she did to hers" – he snickered at that. "So, can you come get us or what?" Another pause followed by Dougie telling whoever where about we were. And then he put the receiver back down, ending the call.

For what felt like a year – but, as it turned out, was a little more than half an hour – Dougie and I attempted to keep each other warm. We didn't say much, not only because we were so cold that our teeth chattered every time one of us opened our mouths – only making us _both_ colder – but also because after having spent most of the afternoon together, and then more than an hour walking along a deserted road, we had run out of things to talk about without it having been awkward – although, being two of the most awkward people I've _ever_ come across, if we hadn't of found the shelter that was the phone booth when we did, those topics probably would have been breached too – and had lapsed into a comfortable silence.

When the car pulled into the car park – we had decided that there had probably been a petrol station here at some point but it had burnt down, leaving only the pavement and the phone booth (and since we couldn't see much through the rain, we couldn't be certain) – Dougie threw open the door and we bolted. Whoever was inside, pushed open the backdoor on the driver's side, and we dove in, shutting the door quickly behind us. We huddled a little longer while relishing in the warmth that was radiating inside the car.

Harry – so that's who Dougie had called! – turned around in his seat, laughed at us, and then started driving the car. "There should be some blankets on the seat back there," he mentioned as he drove carefully down the road.

It was then that we noticed them, quickly wrapping up in them and relishing even more in the extra warmth they provided us.

"So," Harry began after he had been driving for a while, a smile in his voice and probably on his face too. "Dougie said to ask you about your phone Dare. So what happened to it?"

Shooting a glare at Dougie – who was just smirking away – I explained how my phone had found its way under the car and then Dougie had driven over it. The way I had made it sound, it was like the blame was on any and everything other than me. Perfect.

Harry laugh. "Only you!"

I was about to ask what he meant by that, even though I had an inkling of an idea, when he pulled the car into a garage and turned it off before the garage door slid shut behind us, locking us in. He unlocked the doors and climbed out.

Still wrapped in the now-drenched blankets, Dougie and I waddled into Harry's house. While he hadn't needed to – Dougie knew where everything was – Harry pointed us in the direction of the bathrooms and told us where the towels and blankets were so we could take showers. He also suggested we throw our clothes in the wash so we'd have something clean and dry to put on later.

This was how, less than ten minutes later, we were knee deep in the suds coming from under the lid of the washing machine, laughing and squealing in our underwear as we tried – unsuccessfully – to stop the flow of them.

"Is someone in here?" we heard from outside just before the door to the small room was pulled open, the bubbles starting to spill out around. "Oh, umm…." Danny's current girlfriend blushed as she took in the sight of us. "Sorry, I didn't realise –."

"What? Oh, nothing's going on here," I explained, "we just accidently put too much detergent in the machine and were trying to get it to stop."

She eyed us curiously, probably taking in the bubble beards we had happily given ourselves, as well as our scantily clad selves. "Isn't there an emergency stop button on that thing?"

"Ooh! I found it! Thank you, Claire!" Dougie cheered, reminding me of her name, as he found the button in mention and pressed it. The seeping of bubbles suddenly stop.

She looked at us skeptically before turning around and leaving us to clean up our mess. Just before we started, I slipped on the suds and started to go under. Dougie attempted to catch me right at the last second, but ended up falling as well. We sat and laughed on the floor, the suds looking as though there was suddenly a lot more of them now that we were at their level, and then began to clean the mess up so we could warm up with hot showers.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>breakdown by relient k_

_**an:** I'm going to have another one within the week. honest. thanks for reading! :)_


	20. Wedding Bells

**_an:_**_ here is more._

**_disclaimer: _**_tom is not mine.__  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>Our love gets better every day<em>

_With every touch and sound that your voice makes_

_How did we get here?_

_It's better than last year_

"He fancies you," Lauren said as I helped her with her hair the following Saturday, also known as her wedding day.

"What?" I asked. I was, clearly, confused, as nothing about somebody liking someone else was mentioned before she popped that one out. "Who fancies whom?"

"Tom—he _likes_ you."

"Tom? He does not. We're just friends."

"You may see it that way, but he doesn't. If you're going to go around saying he's your friend, you might want to break the news to him before you break his heart."

I tried to keep up with what she was saying, but got lost halfway through. "Er?"

"Adara," she began, turning to face me rather than looking at me through the mirror.

I moved so I could keep working on her hair.

"Stop playing with my hair a minute, will you!"

"I'm sorry," I said in a small voice.

"Adara," she began again, pulling me down into the chair next to her, "Tom does like you. I can see it on his face when he looks at you. And when he talks to and about you. It's all there. All the signs are apparent. It's the twinkle in his eye, or the smile on his face. And the way it seems like you're the only one around him or in the world.

"I know you've never really been good at detecting these kinds of things before, but, if you look, you'll notice these things. And, Adara, don't go breaking his heart like you often seem to do."

"I do not break hearts!"

"You do. Admit it."

I thought about all the boyfriends I'd had and all the boys I had flirted with, too. Suddenly, it all clicked. "Oh gosh. I'm a heartbreaker."

Lauren nodded sadly. "Most of the time. There are the times that you get used because of that, though."

"Please don't remind me."

"Sorry."

"I know it's true. It just happened to me."

"And I'm really sorry about that."

"I should have listened to you. And everyone else who tried to tell me otherwise."

"Don't worry about that. You got out of that relationship before something even worse happened."

"Yeah, I know," I said, thinking about the time that I walked in on one of my high school boyfriends and his ex-girlfriend. He explained later that he wanted his girlfriend back the entire time we were together. It hurt me when I realised I had been used for the first time, but I tried not to let it show to anyone other than my mother and Lauren.

I finished doing Lauren's hair before she did her make-up. Just after I helped her into her dress, a knock came on the door and her parents came in. I told them I'd be back before the ceremony and added to Lauren that I was going to find Tom, as I'd asked him to meet me here.

As soon as I pushed open the back door to the small church Lauren and Josh's family and friends were gathered in, I spotted Tom near the back, seeing as he didn't really know either and had only met both a few days earlier.

"Tom," I whispered from where I was behind the door. "Tom," I whispered again, a little louder.

He turned to me, smiled, then stood and walked to where I was.

"Hey," I said as soon as the door was closed behind him. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"Not a problem. And you look gorgeous," he complimented. "And your necklace goes amazingly well with the dress."

"Thank you. Oh this? It's an old family heirloom." I looked down to the pale yellow, strapless dress I was wearing. It was simple, but, since Lauren loved the way it looked on me and it went with the flowers she had picked, I had to wear it. "By the way, you don't look too shabby yourself," I added, smiling as I took a good look at the way he was dressed.

He nodded, "Thanks. So, how's the bride doing?"

"Surprisingly, she's not fretting over what I thought she'd be fretting over. I mean, she's getting married and you're here, and, yet, she's fretting over me."

"I'm here?" he asked, sounding a little confused. "Oh, wait, never mind."

I laughed before taking his wrist to look at the time. "Oh, well the ceremony should be starting soon so I should be going."

"All right. Wish Lauren good luck for me."

"I will," I said before turning around and hurrying back to the room Lauren was waiting in.

Throughout the ceremony, though I was crying out of happiness for Lauren and Joshua, and a little sadness for the fact I wouldn't see her every morning as she woke me up with coffee, I couldn't help thinking about what Lauren said while she was getting ready.

It was always there, like a plague, not bothering to let me be to completely concentrate.

After the wedding, as we all made our way to Josh's parent's house for a small reception party, I couldn't help but compare the way Lauren had said Tom looked when we were together to the way he actually looked when I looked at him when I talked with him just before the wedding.

I realised by the time I arrived I didn't want anything to change our relationship too much, as I didn't want him to leave my life because I liked him in it.

At the reception, I danced with quite a few people: Lauren, Josh, Tom, Lauren's father, as well as Lauren's older brother, who I had a small crush on just after I started seeing boys in a way other than a germ when I was eight and he was twelve.

At the end, Lauren and I said our goodbyes before she and Josh rode off into the sunset – completely planned, by the way. It was really gorgeous, as I watched them drive away. Eventually, they turned into silhouettes with the orangey-pink sky around their dark shapes.

Tom stayed around afterwards with me, helping to clean up the yard from the party. Well, he had to if he was to be giving me a ride home, as I had no other way of getting home other than taxi. He was sweet like that.

It had been an amazing day, as everything went smoothly – the party was awesome, just as I thought it'd be – and Lauren and Joshua were married and soon to be heading off on their honeymoon.

* * *

><p><em><strong>song: <strong>easy to fall in love by brighten_

**_an: _**_ooh, will she ever figure it out? thanks for reading. more later._


	21. Oh, Baby!

_**an:** thanks for reading this! means a lot!_

**_disclaimer:_**_ the guys belong to themselves._

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><p><em>If you've ever heard a beating heart<br>__A rhythm for the songs we're too afraid to sing  
><em>_Nobody here is perfectly fine  
><em>_A delicate frame, a fragile design_

As I walked through the kitchen on my way to the loo, I noticed that Lauren's and my very pregnant friend Donna sat at the table with tears in her eyes. I stopped and sat down next to her.

"What's wrong, Donna?" I asked as the tears started to fall.

"I think the baby's com – " she began, but cut herself off with a scream of 'ouch'. She looked highly uncomfortable as she sat there.

When the pain seemed to pass, she looked up from her swollen stomach to me. "Contraction," she simply explained, confirming what I had thought it was.

"Where's Jonny?" I asked of her boyfriend, who, although wasn't the father, had been with her through the entire pregnancy; we didn't talk about the father – _ever_.

"He—he had to go away on business for the weekend. He went this weekend as the baby wasn't supposed to come for another month—at least," Donna told me.

"Oh, well…how, er, far apart are the contractions?" After she and Jonny had gone to the… birthing classes, I believe they're called, Donna told us about what she learnt – not too much, though. So, I knew a few things, but not that much. Other things I knew from the movies and television shows.

"About every… thirty minutes or so."

"Oh, we should get you to the hospital. Can we take you?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Okay, you just sit here for a minute while I go grab Tom, all right."

"Thanks, Dare."

I gave her a quick hug before running off to find Tom. He was talking with Lauren's brother Fredrick when I found him. When Fredrick saw me running, he looked up; Tom turned to face me. Tom asked me what was up, asking for the both of them.

I explained that Donna had gone into labour and we had to take her to the hospital. That made Fred back off – he hated hospitals and always felt sick whenever one was mentioned, let alone being in one.

Tom, on the other hand, seemed to be all right with them. He told me he would go get the car. As he left the house, I took Fred's arm, taking him to help me with Donna and getting her to the car – not that I couldn't do it myself, but it would make things a little easier.

About ten minutes later, we were on our way to hospital, and another twenty after that, we were in hospital.

I had Tom stay with Donna while I went to call Jonny and get him back to London before the baby came – hopefully it'd be possible.

When I returned, Tom found me and brought me to the room where Donna now was. I thanked him and told him he could go, but he insisted that he should stay, in case we needed anything and he could get it for us.

"How are you doing?" I asked Donna once her doctor let us in the room. "Can we get you anything?"

"Just Jonny."

"He's catching the next flight. Said he'd call when he knew when it was, but it shouldn't be –" I was cut off by the sound of my mobile ringing. I answered it quickly.

"Is it Jonny?" Donna asked, sounding a little desperate and excited at the same time.

I nodded before getting the details of the flight then telling Jonny I was putting Donna on and handing her the phone.

Tom and I left the room for a few minutes to give her some privacy.

"You think you could do me another big favour?"

"Shoot."

"You think one of the guys could pick Jonny up in about three-quarters of an hour? They're a lot closer to the airport."

"I'll get one of them on it." He pulled out his mobile and called one of them. He talked to one of them quickly, asking me a few details, before hanging up. "Danny's on it."

"Oh, awesome! I'm going to owe you _big time_," I said as I reached up and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

As I walked back into the room, I heard him mumble something like, "No, you don't own me _anything_…." I asked him what he said, but he told me that it wasn't anything. Shrugging it off, I went back into Donna's room, where she was just saying 'goodbye' to Jonny.

I told her I needed to speak with him for a moment and she handed my mobile over. I told him that Danny – they had met at my birthday party – would be waiting outside for him in his car, telling him what the car looked like. He thanked me before telling me that he had to run if he was to catch the flight and hung up.

Just then, though, Donna had another contraction, and I rushed to her side to help her through it the best I could. A few minutes passed, and so had it.

About an hour later, Donna had me go get her ice chips. I sent Tom to stay with her, as her contractions were getting closer and closer and she had opted for going without the epidural – and with every contraction becoming more and more painful, the closer they got, she asked herself why she had decided to go down the natural road.

I figured it would be any minute that Jonny would arrive, but I wasn't sure. The doctor figured that Donna would be ready to push soon – Donna had decided that, if Jonny didn't arrive on time, I would be helping her though it (and who was I to argue?).

When I got back with the ice chips, Donna was having another contraction. I heard Tom saying that she could squeeze his hand as hard as she needed before I saw her in the contraction – which looked to be the most painful yet.

I admired the scene before me before rushing in just as the contraction finished.

"Your ice chips, m'lady," I said, before mentally cursing myself, knowing that she wouldn't be in the mood for that kind of talk – or anything, really.

She ignored me, though, taking the cup of ice chips, and asking where Jonny was. I told her I would give him a call.

Just as I was about to leave the room, the doctor came in, shooing us, only leaving Tom and I to exit the room for a few minutes.

"Jonny. Where are you?" I asked as soon as I had him on the phone.

"About ten blocks from the hospital. We're stuck in traffic—it's not moving."

I was about to say something, but I heard the doctor telling Donna that she was about ready to push.

"Mate, you're a runner, right?" I asked him instead.

"Yeah, why?"

"Get out of that car and run your heart out: She's having the baby."

Donna was insistent on waiting as long as possible before the baby came, hoping that Jonny would arrive before she pushed.

She wasn't able to wait long, though – ten minutes, maybe? – before the doctor told her she could wait no longer. She was practically in tears – partly because of the pain, partly because Jonny wasn't yet there – as the nurse got her ready to move.

I was at her side, holding her hand, as she was moved to a delivery room.

"Dara!" I heard Tom call from down the hall, towards the elevators.

I turned to find out why he called, but before I could blink, I saw Jonny dash down the corridor, only stopping when he reached us. I let go of Donna's hand, and Jonny took it instead, giving her a quick kiss as they moved further into the room.

I stayed back and Tom came over.

"Perfect timing," I pointed out.

"Sure was," Tom said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Come on, let's go wait in the waiting room." He started leading me back down the corridor he and Jonny had just come from – and it wasn't like I could resist him, he was much larger than me, compared to my petite frame.

"You're a great friend," he told me as he sat on one of the empty sofas in the waiting room (I didn't know waiting rooms had sofas, and thought they had just row upon row of chair, until I brought it up and was told that most don't, this was just a special waiting room in a special hospital, or something).

Instead of sitting next to him, I put my head on his lap and flopping my legs over the arm – even though I was still wearing my knee-length bridesmaid's dress – suddenly realising how exhausted I was – I could only imagine how tired Donna was (and how even more tired she'd be after the baby was born… and then after they brought the baby home…).

"I was just in the way," I said before yawning. "You were a better help than me."

"I just helped her through one contraction and got her ice and stuff every now and then. You got her through everything – _everything – _else. You were amazing – you were even going to help her with the deliev – ."

"I didn't want to," I whined, cutting him off.

He laughed before continuing. "You were still going to, and that's what matters. And there will be no arguing over this."

I sighed. "All right. Thanks, Tom; you're a great guy." I sat up and turned to him, pulling him in for a hug of gratitude.

"Awe, look at the two of you," Danny cooed, having come in while Tom and I were embraced.

Leaving Tom, I got up and hugged him, too, thanking him for getting Jonny here just in the nick of time.

I went back to lying on the sofa with my head on Tom's lap, and Danny sat across from us on another sofa, joining us for the wait.

A while passed, we talked about random things – namely the wedding and the baby that would be arriving soon – before running out of things to talk about.

My eyes were just falling shut when I heard Jonny's excited voice coming from nearby. I opened my eyes again and sat up to look at him.

He had a huge grin on his face as he told us, "It's a boy!"

It was at that second that I realised I still hadn't made it to the loo.

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><p><strong><em>song: <em>**_bigger than love by my favorite highway_

**_an:_**_ ehehe! ;)  
><em>_as I'm out of town this week, it could be a bit of a longer wait before the next - hopefully not though!  
><em>_thanks for reading, much appreciated! :)_


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